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Columbia  (Unibersit; 

STUDIES  IN  ROMANCE  PHILOLOGY  AND 

LITERATURE 


THE 

EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE 
BEFORE  1700 


J.  PETER  MAYER 
LIBRARY 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 
SALES  AGENTS 

New  York 

LEMCKE  &  BUECHNER 

30-32  East  20th  Street 

London 

HUMPHREY  MILFORD 

Amen  Corneb,  E.G. 

Shanghai 

EDWARD  EVANS  &  SONS,  Ltd. 

30  North  Szechuen  Road 


THE 

EXTKAORDINARY   VOYAGE 

IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE 
BEFORE  1700 


BY 

GEOFFROY  ATKINSON,  Ph.D. 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

1920 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright,  1920 
By  Columbia.  UinvBRsrrY  Pbbss 


Printed  from  t3T>e,  1920 


PmiMTED    AT 
T.HX*PLIIIPT0N-PXES8 
K0.BW00D'1IAS8'0'S'A 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

SANTA  BARBARA 


PREFACE 

This  study  was  begun  in  October  1916  at  the  sugges- 
tion of  Professor  Gustave  Lanson,  who  was  at  that  time 
lecturing  at  Columbia  University,  and  to  whom  it  was  my 
privilege  to  act  as  office  assistant.  My  research  has 
been  twice  interrupted:  from  January  to  March  1917^ 
while  I  was  in  France  as  Secretary  and  Interpreter  to 
the  Rockefeller  Tuberculosis  Commission,  and  again 
from  May  1917,  when  I  went  to  France  as  a  private 
soldier  of  the  United  States  Army,  until  January  1919,. 
at  which  time  I  returned  to  the  United  States  and  ta 
civilian  life. 

Although  I  had  originally  intended  to  make  a  complete 
study  of  the  history  of  the  Extraordinary  Voyage  as  a 
type  of  novel  in  French  Literature,  I  have  been  obUged, 
■by  the  extent  of  the  subject,  to  limit  my  study  in  the 
present  volume  to  the  period  preceding  the  year  1700. 
It  is  my  purpose  to  continue  in  a  second  volume  the 
investigation  of  the  Extraordinary  Voyages  pubUshed  since 
that  date. 

It  is  only  fitting  to  say  that  without  the  suggestion  of 
Professor  Lanson  the  present  work  never  would  have 
been  begun,  and  that,  without  his  continued  interest,  it 
certainly  never  would  have  been  completed.  If  in  its 
accomplishment  any  credit  whatever  is  to  be  accorded, 
this  will  have  been  due  in  large  measure  to  the  inspira- 
tion received  from  Professor  Lanson.  If  on  the  other 
hand,  errors  of  statement  or  of  judgment  are  discovered 
in  it,  they  may  be  set  down  as  exclusively  my  own. 


VI  PREFACE 

Two  other  French  scholars,  Visiting  Lecturers  at 
Columbia  University,  have  been  kind  enough  to  take 
an  interest  in  my  investigations.  To  Professor  Fernand 
Baldensperger,  now  of  the  University  of  Strasbourg,  I 
am  indebted  for  aid  in  the  bibUography  of  the  subject, 
while  to  Professor  Ana;tole  Le  Braz,  of  the  University  of 
Rennes,  I  am  grateful  for  much  helpful  criticism  and 
suggestion  during  the  last  months  of  my  work  on  this 
subject. 

Furthermore,  to  Professors  Raymond  Weeks  and 
A.  G.  H,  Spiers  of  Columbia  University  and  to  Professor 
H.  Carrington  Lancaster  of  Johns  Hopkins  University 
I  am  under  many  obUgations.  Through  their  sympathy 
for  French  scholarship  and  French  ideals,  these  men 
have  supplemented  the  inspiration  it  has  been  my  privi- 
lege to  receive  from  the  visiting  lecturers  above  named. 

For  advice  and  assistance  in  preparing  this  study  for 
publication,  I  am  much  indebted  to  Professor  H.  A.  Todd 
of  Columbia  University. 

G.  A. 


CONTENTS 

PAoa 

Preface v 

Intboduction ix 

Chapter      I.    Descriptions  of  Real  Voyages 1 

II.    Imaginary  Realms  Before  1675 12 

III.  Precursors  of  the  Extraordinary  Voyage.  25 

IV.  La  Tare  Attstrale  conniie  of  Gabriel  Foigny,  36 
V.    L'Histoire  des  Sevarambes  of  Denis  Vairassb 

d'Alais 87 

VI.    A  Political  Satire  and  Two  Translations  140 

VII.    Les  AverUures  de  TiUmaque  of  F6nelon.  . .  144 

Conclusions 162 

Appendix 167 

Bibliography 175 

Index - 187 


INTRODUCTION 
1.  Definition 

The  term  Extraordinary  Voyage  is  used  in  the  present 
study  to  designate  a  novel  of  the  following  type:  A 
fictitious  narrative  purporting  to  be  the  veritable  account 
of  a  real  voyage  made  by  one  or  more  Europeans  to  an 
existent  but  little  known  country  —  or  to  several  such 
coimtries  —  together  with  a  description  of  the  happy 
condition  of  society  there  found,  and  a  supplementary 
accoimt  of  the  travelers'  return  to  Europe. 

By  the  terms  of  this  definition  the  Extraordinary 
Voyage  is  an  imaginary  one.  But  even  within  the  re- 
strictions of  a  limited  hterary  period,  it  would  be  futile 
to  attempt  to  cover  intensively  so  broad  and  varied  a 
field  as  that  of  Imaginary  Voyages  in  general.  It  is 
necessary  to  exclude  from  consideration  accounts  of 
travel  by  land  only,  of  travel  in  familiar  European  coun- 
tries, of  voyages  to  other  planets,  of  voyages  made  in 
dreams,  by  witchcraft,  by  charms,  or  other  supernatural 
means.  As  the  Extraordinary  Voyage  is  an  imaginary 
one  —  a  novel  —  the  term  will  not  include  accounts  of 
voyages  actually  made,  although  these  accoimts  may 
contain  many  or  all  of  the  characteristics  of  the  Ex- 
traordinary Voyage  barring  that  of  a  voyage  made  in 
the  imagination  rather  than  in  reality. 

The  term  Extraordinary  Voyage  is  then  merely  a  label, 
convenient  for  purposes  of  classification.  It  impUes, 
not  of  itself,  but  because  it  has  been  so  defined  here,  the 


X  INTRODUCTION 

limitations  which  have  been  arbitrarily  assigned  to  it. 
It  is  perhaps  unfortunate  that  the  terminology  of  literary 
history  does  not  furnish  a  word  which  would  imply  the 
limitations  above  defined.  The  fact  remains  that  there 
is  no  fitting  term  at  present  in  use,  so  that  limitation  by 
definition  becomes  necessary.  The  reason  for  choosing 
the  word  "extraordinary"  rather  than  any  other  w  that 
the  title  Voyages  extraordinaires  has  already  been  applied 
to  this  category  by  M.  Gustave  Lanson  in  designating 
the  group  of  novels  whose  treatment  is  undertaken  here.* 
The  main  distinction  between  the  Extraordinary 
Voyage  as  a  type,  and  (for  example)  the  Utopia  of  More 
or  the  Voyages  of  Cyrano  de  Bergerac,  lies  in  the  reaUstic 
treatment  of  the  Extraordinary  Voyage.  The  same  dis- 
tinction is  found  between  the  Extraordinary  Voyage  and 
the  political  satire  of  anagram  names,  or  between  the 
Extraordinary  Voyage  and  the  affected  voyages  in  the 
lands  of  Love  so  common  in  the  17th  century  in  France. 
It  is  precisely  by  the  authenticated  realism  of  their 
setting  that  the  Extraordinary  Voyages  carried  weight 
as  works  of  religious,  social,  or  political  criticism. 

2.  Purpose  of  the  Present  Study 

It  is  intended  in  this  study  to  treat  the  Extraordinary 
Voyages  before  1700  both  as  individual  productions  and 
as  a  group  of  novels.  The  first  attempts  in  the  direction 
of  this  type  of  novel  will  be  studied  in  the  early  part  of 
the  17th  century.  In  addition  to  considering  the  philo- 
sophical and  Utopian  content  of  each,  the  three  complete 
novels  of  the  type  pubUshed  before  1700  will  be  treated 
as  novels,  and  the  sources  of  realism  in  each  will  be  traced 
to  accounts  of  real  voyages  of  earlier  date. 

*  G.  Lanson,  Manud  Mbliographigue  de  la  liUirature  franfaiae 
modeme.  Paris,  1914. 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

3.  The  Place  of  the  Extraordinary  Voyage 
IN  THE  17th  Century 

M.  Lanson  has  considered  the  Extraordinary  Voyage 
as  a  manifestation  of  the  rationalistic  spirit  in  the  17th 
and  early  18th  centuries  of  French  Literature.^  The 
philosophic  novel  is  one  of  many  forms  of  literature 
made  use  of  by  M.  Lanson  in  order  to  trace  the  develop- 
ment of  rationaUstic  thinking  in  France.  These  novels 
are  adduced  by  him  as  proof  that  the  "esprit  philo- 
sophique"  of  the  18th  Century  was  not  the  consequence 
of  reasoning  a  priori,  but  rather  the  result  of  new  and 
concrete  examples  brought  to  the  attention  of  men  trained 
in  rationalistic  thought.  It  would  be  vain  to  comment 
on,  or  to  attempt  to  resume  here  a  study  of  the  scope  of 
this  work  of  M.  Lanson.  What  is  of  importance  with 
regard  to  the  present  study  is,  that  M.  Lanson  has  treated 
the  Extraordinary  Voyage  as  a  manifestation  of  a  par- 
ticular school  of  thought  rather  than  as  a  type  of  novel.' 

The  first  to  call  attention  to  this  group  of  novels  was 
M.  Andre  Lichtenberger,  in  Le  Sodalisme  au  xviii» 
siecle*  His  interest,  as  would  appear  from  the  title  of 
his  work,  is  largely  connected  with  the  theory  of  property 
in  novels  of  this  type. 

M.  Gilbert  Chinard,  now  of  the  Johns  Hopkins  Uni- 
versity, in  a  study  of  very  wide  scope  *  has  considered 
the  same  type  of  novel  as  an  example  of  the  exotic  in- 
fluences in  France  during  the  17th  and  18th  centuries.* 

*  Origines  et  premihres  manifestations  de  V  esprit  philosophique,  etc 
Revue  des  Cows  et  Conferences,  Dec,  1907  et  seq. 

*  See  also :  G.  Lanson,  Le  rSle  de  I'exp&rience  dans  la  formation  de 
la  philosophic  du  xviii*  sikcle  en  France.    Revue  du  Mois,  t.  ix  (1910). 

*  Paris,  1894. 

"•  L'Am^rique  et  le  r^  exotique  dans  la  litteralure  frangaise  au 
xvii'  et  au  xviii'  sihck.    Paris,  1913. 

*  pp.  188-220. 


\ 


XU  INTRODUCTION 

To  M.  Chinard  the  chief  interest  of  these  novels  is,  of 
course,  the  fact  of  their  "exotic"  nature,  although  he 
points  out  the  philosophic  content  of  each  on  the  basis 
of  M.  Lanson's  previous  work,  which  is  referred  to  by 
him  and  at  least  in  one  instance  quoted. 

It  has  often  been  said  that  the  ideas  developed  by 
great  authors  are  theirs  only  in  the  sense  that  through 
their  genius  of  expression  these  authors  have  given  them 
lasting  form.  The  precursors  of  these  great  formulations 
are  forgotten  with  a  rapidity  which  is  surprising,  even 
though  it  may  be  just. 

Until  the  recent  studies  of  the  three  scholars  just 
cited,  the  men  whose  writings  are  to  be  considered  here 
were,  with  one  exception,  forgotten  and  unknown.  Works 
of  imagination,  based  on  rationalistic  processes  of 
thought  and  involving  criticism  of  existing  conditions,  had 
heretofore  seemed  to  the  average  scholar  to  belong  al- 
most of  necessity  to  the  18th  century  of  French  Litera- 
ture. In  the  17th  century,  the  imaginative  work  of 
Cyrano  de  Bergerac,  and  the  popularized  science  of 
Fontenelle  appeared,  as  it  were,  rather  lost  and  out  of 
place.  With  the  work  of  scholars  since  the  appearance 
of  Lichtenberger's  Le  Socialisme  au  xviii'  siecle  has  come 
the  realization  that  the  "philosophic"  spirit,  generally  as- 
sociated with  the  18th  century  of  French  Literature,  has  its 
roots  in  the  years  before  1700,  and  that  Tilemaque  (1699) 
is  not  a  sporadic  manifestation  without  predecessors. 

The  present  study  is  concerned  chiefly  with  the  de- 
velopment of  one  generic  form,  and  with  the  particular 
analysis  of  three  specific  novels,  of  the  type: 

La  Terre  australe  connue  of  Gabriel  Foigny,  1676; 
L'Histoire  des  Sharambes  of  Denis  Vairasse  d'Alais,  1677-79; 
Les  Aventures  de  T4l&maqiie  of  F^nelon,  1699. 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

It  is  not  contended  that  the  works  of  Foigny,  Vairasse, 
and  their  equally  obscure  predecessors  are  of  an  im- 
portance approaching  that  of  the  works  of  F^nelon, 
De  Foe,  Rousseau,  Voltaire,  Chateaubriand,  and  other 
famous  writers  of  later  centuries.  Were  it  not  for  these 
men  of  greater  genius  in  later  years,  the  work  of  investi- 
gation contemplated  here  would  be  without  justification. 
It  is  easy  to  believe,  however,  that  these  precur- 
sors of  the  great  figures  are  worthy  of  study,  and  that 
they  are  perhaps  more  worthy  of  study  than  are  those 
mediocre  spirits  of  the  18th  century  who  basked  in  the 
reflected  glory  of  contemporary  genius. 

Because  of  their  resemblances  and  contrasts  to  the  great 
writers  of  their  time,  such  minor  authors  as  Tiphaigne 
de  la  Roche,  Guillard  de  Beaurieu,  the  abb^  Dulaurens, 
Simon-Nicolas-Henri  Linguet,  R^tif  de  la  Bretonne, 
and  many  others,^  have  been  taken  from  their  quiet 
shelves,  dusted,  and  found  to  present  a  certain  interest. 
Perhaps  less  apology  is  required  for  studying  here  those 
rationalistic  writers  of  imaginative  voyages  who  drew 
for  their  realistic  setting  on  pubHshed  accounts  of  actual 
voyages  of  the  17th  century  and  on  accounts  of  ancient 
civihzations,  and  who  placed  in  this  setting  imaginary 
and  uncorrupted  peoples  for  the  purpose  of  preaching 
criticism  of  the  France  now  generally  studied  in  Racine, 
Bossuet,  and  Mme.  de  la  Fayette. 

'  A.  Lichtenberger,  Le  Sodalisme  viopique,  Paris,  1898. 


THE  EXTEAOKDINAKY  VOYAGE 
IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE 

CHAPTER  I 
DESCRIPTIONS  OF  REAL  VOYAGES 

1.  Illustrated  Cosmographies. 

2.  Realism  in  some  accounts  of  Voyages  after  1600. 

3.  Interest  in  Accounts  of  Voyages. 

1.  Illustrated  Cosmographies 

Widespread  interest  in  geography  in  the  Middle  Ages 
is  evidenced  by  "cosmographies"  of  the  type  of  the 
Image  du  Monde.  These  fantastic  cosmographies,  such 
as  that  of  Maitre  Gossouin,^  were  followed,  in  the  closing 
years  of  the  16th  centmy,  by  a  cosmography  in  the 
modern  sense  of  the  word.  lb  this,  and  in  subsequent 
collections  of  accounts  of  voyages  in  the  17th  century, 
it  is  possible  to  trace  a  growing  interest  on  the  part  of 
the  public  in  descriptions  of  far-off  lands,  and  an  increas- 
ing amount  of  realism  in  the  accounts  of  voyages  published. 

The  cosmography  of  the  father  and  sons  De  Bry  was 
published  from  1590  to  1635.  It  is  generally  divided  into 
the  Long  Voyages  and  the  Short  Voyages  (Grands  et  Petits 
Voyages).    One  part  deals  with  the  history  of  the  dis- 

*  L' Image  du  monde  de  Maitre  Gossouin,  printed  at  Lausanne, 
1913.  (Bibliography  under  Gossouin.)  This  work  of  Gossouin  is 
cited  as  a  tjrpe.  There  is  no  reason  for  dealing  here  with  the  other 
cosmographies  of  the  same  period. 

1 


2  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

covery  of  America,  the  other  part  with  an  account  of 
the  discovery  of  the  East  Indies.^  The  father  and  two 
sons  who  published  this  voluminous  collection  were  en- 
gravers by  trade,  and  resorted  to  the  history  of  discovery 
and  exploration  in  five -continents  as  a  means  of  utilizing 
and  displaying  their  undoubted  skill  in  the  art  of  illustra- 
tion. The  many  volumes,  containing  accounts  of  voyages, 
shipwrecks,  explorations,  descriptions  of  fauna  and  flora, 
tables  of  Latin  and  Indian  languages,  are  fertile  in  maps. 
But  their  illustrations  t- hundreds  of  engravings  of  all 
sorts  —  are  even  more  interesting.  There  are  battles,  and 
ceremonies  of  state;  there  are  plants  and  flowers;  there 
are  beasts  such  as  never  were  on  land  or  sea:  the  sea- 
cow  with  horns,  the  unicorn,  the  two-headed  monsters, 
the  giant  bird  the  Ruk,  —  these  and  many  more  super- 
stitions, generally  characterized  as  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
survive  into  the  17th  century  in  this  cosmography. 
The  juxtaposition  of  the  text  and  the  engravings  gives 
these  latter  (which  were  to  the  engravers  perhaps  only 
the  continuation  of  a  tradition)  a  curiously  life-hke 
quaUty.'  If  the  printing  of  Marco  Polo's  travels  in 
Latin*  and  their  later  translation  into  other  languages 
had  stirred  the  imaginations  of  many  readers  during  the 
16th  century,  these  illustrated  accounts  of  exploration 
in  Africa,  Asia,  Australasia,  and  the  two  Americas 
supplied  an  additional  stimulus  to  the  eye.  AU  the 
strange  and  grotesque  animals  to  the  contrary  not- 
withstanding, the  minute  description  of  costumes,  idols, 
plants,  and  vermin  of  the  De  Bry  collection  must  have 

*  See  Bibliography,  De  Bry. 

*  For  appreciation  and  table  of  contents  of  this  collection  see: 
A.  G.  Camus,  M&moire  sur  la  Collection  des  Grands  et  Petits  Voyages, 
etc.  Paris,  1802.  This  work  is  of  great  use  in  searching  for  proper 
names  occurring  in  the  collection. 

*  First  Latin  edition,  Antwerp,  circa  1485  (according  to  P.  Mar- 
tino,  L' Orient  dans  la  UUiratwre,  frangaise,  Paris,  1906,  p.  12). 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  3 

brought  a  realism  to  the  far  places  of  the  earth  for  the 
European  reader. 

2.  Realism  in  Some  Accounts  of  Voyages 

AFTER  1600 

The  realism  of  the  engravings  of  the  De  Bry  collection 
is  a  feature  which  becomes  even  more  striking  in  ac- 
counts of  voyages  after  1600.  It  is  not  intended  in  the 
short  space  of  this  chapter  to  treat  extensively  the  real- 
istic element  in  accounts  of  Voyages  in  the  17th  century 
in  France.  Perhaps  no  better  idea  of  the  minute  de- 
scriptions of  conmionplace  objects  in  accounts  of  far  lands 
can  be  obtained  than  that  which  comes  from  reading  M. 
Chinard's  work  on  Du  Tertre  as  a  predecessor  of  Rous- 
seau.* It  is  intended  here  merely  to  point  out  some  of 
the  elements  of  realism  in  accounts  of  Voyages  that  have 
not  been  mentioned  by  M.  Chinard. 

First  through  the  illustrations  and  the  text  of  col- 
lections like  that  of  De  Bry,  then  through  other  accoimts 
of  voyages  in  later  years,  the  far  places  of  the  earth  came 
to  be  more  than  a  hazy  dream  to  the  readers  in  17th 
century  France.  By  definite  maps,  even  though  these 
were  grossly  inaccurate,  by  meticulous  descriptions  of 
animals,  birds,  insects,  plants,  and  fruits,  the  far  lands 
became  in  some  measure  real  to  those  who  stayed  at  home. 

At  Douai  in  1605  appeared  a  large  quarto  volume 
which  continues  the  tradition  of  the  earher  works  of  the 
engravers  DeBry.    This  is  the: 

Histoire  universelle  des  Indes  Orientales  et  Occidentales,  par 
ComiUe  Wytfliet  et  Ant.  M.  A  DOXJA  Y,  avx  despens  de  Frangois 
Fabri,  1605. 

There  are  two  very  complete  maps  of  the  Terre  Austr(de 

(pp.  67  and  70)  filling  the  entire  Antarctic  region,  ap- 

'  UAmiTique  et  le  rSve  exotique,  pp.  39-52. 


4  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

proaching  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  including  the  Tierra 
del  Fuego  and  thereby  approaching  the  mainland  of 
South  America.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Java,  this 
tremendous  Antarctic  land  appears  further  north  than 
the  tropic  of  Capricorn.  One  of  these  maps  is  circular, 
with  the  South  Pole  at  the  center.  The  text  of  this 
book  is,  however,  impersonal  and  uninteresting. 

Another  and  a  better  known  book  of  travel  is  that  of 
Jean  Mocquet,  Garde  du  Cabinet  des  singularitez  du  Roy. 
These  voyages  appeared  at  Paris  in  1616,  and  1617,  at 
Rouen  in  1645,  in  1665  and  in  many  translations,  among 
them  the  fairly  common  1696  edition  at  London.  The 
title  of  the  1617  edition  is: 

Voyages  en  Afrique,  Asie,  Indes  Orientales  &  Occidentales  fails 
par  Jean  Mocquet,  Garde  du  Cabinet  des  Singularitez  du  Roy, 
aux  Tuileries.   Paris,  chez  Jean  de  la  Heuqueville,  MDCXVII. 

M.  Chinard  ^  has  called  attention  at  length  to  the  strong 
exotic  flavor  of  this  rare  story  of  adventure,  and  to  the 
interest  of  Mocquet  in  plants,  flowers  and  animals. 
M.  Henri  Jouan  has  also  made  a  charming  sketch  of  the 
man  Mocquet  as  reflected  in  his  writings.^  Aside  from 
the  author's  convincing  style,  and  his  descriptions  of 
ships,  pirates,  strange  peoples,  hunger,  thirst  and  mis- 
fortune, there  are  other  interesting  elements  in  the  book. 
After  the  first  part,  there  are  illustrations  of  camels  with 
cloven  hoofs,  hke  those  of  cows,  and  with  tails  like  those 
of  horses.  At  the  end  of  Livre  2  are  eight  startling 
illustrations  (in  the  same  manner  though  not  so  well  ex- 
ecuted as  those  of  De  Bry)  depicting  cannibalism,  Brazil- 
ian native  dances  and  warfare.  Arms  and  legs  of  victims 
are  seen  roasting  over  a  fire,  while  the  natives  sit  in  the 

•  G.  Chinard,  L'Aminque  et  le  rhe  exotique,  pp.  24-29. 
'  M&moires  de  la  SociiU  Nationale  AcacUmique    de    Cherbourg, 
1904.    pp.  1-29. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  5 

foreground,  gnawing  on  human  limbs.  In  Livre  3  there 
are  descriptions  of  Christian  martyrs,  and  a  striking 
account  of  a  dog  protected  by  a  Uon  from  other  Hons 
(p.  187).  This  real  interest  in  animals,  apparent 
throughout  the  book,  is  strikingly  modern.  Another,  and 
perhaps  a  still  more  noteworthy  trait,  is  Mocquet's  ap- 
preciation of  inanimate  nature.  In  lAvre  4  the  author's 
departure  from  a  port  in  Brittany  is  sketched  in  with 
one  stroke  of  the  brush:  Cefut  vn  matin  &  par  vne  grande 
tourmente  (p.  214).  The  minute  realistic  descriptions  of 
the  manners  and  customs  of  strange  peoples  in  Mocquet's 
Voyages  has  been  mentioned  by  M.  Chinard. 

Engravings  of  fruits,  trees,  vegetables,  pottery  as  well 
as  maps,  are  found  in  many  collections  of  voyages  in  the 
17th  century  before  1675.  Perhaps  as  abundant  as  any 
collection  in  these  illustrations  is  the  Recueil  de  Voyages 
of  Justel: 

Recueil  de  divers  Voyages  fails  en  Afrique  et  en  I'Amerique  qui  n'ont 
point  est^  encore  publiez.  Paris,  chez  Louis  Billaine,  MDCLXXI V. 

It  is  curious  to  note  in  this  book  a  long  discussion  on  the 
unicorn  (pp.  220-223),  under  the  title  De  la  fameuse 
Ldcorne,  des  lieux  ou  elle  est  nourrie  &  comme  elle  est 
formee.  Side  by  side  with  it  are  minute  descriptions  of 
plants  and  vegetables  common  in  the  West  Indies,  Africa 
and  elsewhere. 

Typical  in  a  way  of  books  of  travel  in  the  early  17th 
century  in  France  is  an  account  of  a  voyage  to  the 
East  Indies,  which  appeared  in  a  small  12mo  volume  at 
Paris  in  1645.*  The  Privilege  du  Roi  is  of  February 
5th,  1645.     Although  the  title  does  not  give  the  name  of 

'  Relation  d'un  voyage  aux  Indes-Orientales  par  un  Gentil-homme 
Frangois  arrive  depu^s  trois  ans,  avec  une  hydrographie  pour  Vin- 
teUigence  dudit  voyage,  Paris,  Chez  Pierre  Villery  et  Jean  Guignart, 
au  Palais,  MDCXLV,  avec  privilege. 


6  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

the  author,  the  privilege  reads  in  part,  "II  est  permis  k 
C.  D.  B.  S.  D.  L.  G.  d'imprimer,  ou  faire  imprimer." 

Two  things  make  this  small  volume,  not  mentioned 
previously  to  my  knowledge,  worthy  of  notice :  its  realism, 
and  interest  in  the  exotic.  The  author  takes  an  interest 
in  reUgious  matters  when  they  are  exotic,  for  one  reads 
(p.  3)  of  a  negro  prince,  Ce  Prince  se  disoit  Chrestien, 
&  nous  monstra  vne  Chapelle  &  vn  Crucifix  .  .  .  pour 
marque  de  sa  pieti  .  .  .  lis  vont  nuds,  &  ont  plu,sieur8 
femmes,  quoy  que  Chrestiens." 

Realism  with  regard  to  savages  is  found  in  descriptions 
of  the  natives  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  women 
are  laides  &  ont  si  peu  de  nez,  qu^elles  sont  fort  comme 
des  singesses  &  tous  ces  sauuxiges  puans  comme  des  houcs, 
viuans  sans  Dieu,  sans  Roy  &  sans  Loy  ...  (p.  5), 

The  island  of  Formosa  is  called  la  belle  des  belles  (p.  46), 
and  eulogized.  There  is  a  prince  (p.  70)  who  a  pris  le 
Christianisme  en  telle  hayne,  qu'il  a  fait  mourir  iusques 
a  des  Princes  de  son  sang.  Different  races  of  different 
reUgions  living  together  cause  some  comment  (p.  81): 
Comme  toute  sorte  de  peuples  trafiquerd  en  cette  ville  il  y  a 
aussi  de  toutes  sortes  de  Religions,  fors  la  Chrestienne,  & 
toutefois  ceux  mesme  qui  adorent  vn  seul  Dieu,  n'ont  aucune 
regie.     Here  is  religious  freedom. 

Mention  is  made  (p.  82)  of  plusieurs  sortes  de  Mahome- 
tans, quelques  vns  ont  des  Chapelets  &  d^auires  font  le 
signe  de  la  Croix. 

Most  of  the  book  is  filled  with  accounts  of  guard-duty, 
insurrection  of  natives,  battles  between  the  Dutch  and 
the  Portuguese,  reports  of  gold,  silver,  spices,  and  stories 
of  piracy.  There  is  reaUsm  in  this  also.  We  find,  for  in- 
stance (p.  23),  one  very  distinguished  Chinese  admiral 
and  pirate  reduced  to  peddling  beer  for  a  living  in 
Formosa. 

Minute  and  careful  description  of  fear-inspiring  events 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  7 

is  found  in  accounts  of  the  earthquake  in  Canada  in 
1663,  as  described  by  Jerome  Lallemant  in  his: 

Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass4  de  plus  remarqiuible  aux  Missions 
des  Peres  de  la  Compagnie  de  Jesus  en  la  Nouvelle  France  ^ 
annees  1662  &  1668.    Paris,  chez  Cramoisy,  1664- 

3.   Interest  in  Accounts  of  Voyages 

These  Jesuit  reports  on  Canada  were  pubHshed  by 
Cramoisy  at  Paris,  almost  yearly,  for  a  considerable 
period.     For  instance: 

Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passe  en  la  Nouvelle  France  en  I'annSe 

1639  (Paul  LeJeune),  Paris,  1640; 

is  ann4es  1640  &  1641  {Barthelemy  Vimont)  Paris,  164£; 

en  I'annee  1642  {BartheUmy  Vimont)  Paris,  1643; 

is  annees  1643  &  1644  (B.  Vimont)  Paris,  1645; 

es  annees  1644  &  i645  {B.  Vimont)  Paris,  1646; 

es  annies  1645-1646  {Jirdme  Lallemant)  Paris,  1647. 

In  the  years  1650  to  1663  these  relations  were  written 
by  Paul  Ragueneau;  in  1654  and  1655,  by  Frangois  Le 
Mercier.  The  two  publishers,  Sebastien  and  Gabriel 
Cramoisy,  also  pubUshed  many  other  relations  such  as: 

Relation  de  Vestablissement  des  Francois  depuis  Van  1635  en 
Visle  de  la  Martinique,  etc.  {Jacques  Bouton),  Paris,  1640. 
Relation  des  Missions  des  PP  de  la  Compagnie  de  Jesus  dans   les 
isles  &  dans  la  terre  ferme  de  I'Amerique  meridionale.      Paris ^ 
1655  (by  Pierre  Pelleprat). 

Neither  was  publication  of  missionary  and  colonial 
reports  Umited  to  Paris.  After  1650,  a  great  publica- 
tion of  such  accounts  seems  to  begin,  and  throughout 
France.  The  Relation  de  Vestablissement  d'une  colonie 
frangoise   dans  la  Gardeloupe  '  etc.  of  Mathias  Dupuis, 

•  Guadeloupe. 


8  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

Caen  1652,  has  not  been  mentioned  previously  to  my 
knowledge. 

In  the  first  ten  years  of  the  century  a  great  part  of  the 
published  voyages  were  translations  such  as  G.  M. 
Lodewijcks' 

Premier  livre  de  la  navigation  aitx  Indes  Orientates  par  les  Hol- 
landois,  etc.    Amsterdam,  1609, 

or  Diego  BoUo  de  Torres' 

La  nouvelle  histoire  du  Perou  par  la  relation  du  Pere  Diego  de 
Torres.    Paris,  I6O4. 

The  better  known  Histoire  naturelle  et  morale  des  Indes, 
of  Acosta,  was  repeatedly  published  in  translations  from 
the  Spanish  at  the  beginning  of  the  century.  This 
pubUcation  of  translations  does  not  cease  later,  when 
many  accounts  of  voyages  were  being  published  by 
Frenchmen.  L'Histoire  du  nouveau  monde  ou  Descrip- 
tion des  Indes  Ocddentales,  of  Joannes  de  Laet,  Leyden, 
1640,  was  followed  by  other  translations  from  the 
Dutch. 

Accounts  of  travels  by  Frenchmen,  such  as  the  Descrip- 
tion du  premier  voyage  faict  aux  Indes  Orientales  par  les 
Frangais  en  Van  1603,  of  Frangois  Martin  de  Vitr6, 
Paris,  1604,  necessarily  rare  at  the  beginning  of  the 
century,  multiply  rapidly  toward  1650.  The  Voyages 
famevx  du  sieur  Vincent  Le  Blanc  (1648)  will  be  examined 
at  length  in  Chapter  III.  A  less  interesting  traveler 
but  one  far  better  informed  is  Frangois  de  Gouz,  sieur 
de  la  Boullaye.  In  his  curious  book,  this  traveler  shows 
knowledge  of  the  voyages  of  Magellan,  Drake,  Mocquet, 
and  Vincent  Le  Blanc,  among  others.  For  one  interested 
in  the  extent  of  pubUcation  of  accounts  of  voyages  at 
the  time,  it  is  interesting  to  consult  the  four  unnumbered 
pages  {viz.  four  pages  of  criticism  of  then  existing  books 
of  travel)  following  the  Au  lecteur  of: 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  9 

Les  voyages  et  observations  du  Sieur  de  la  Boidlaye-le-Govz  en  . . . 
Italie,  Grece,  Syrie,  Palestine, . . .  Indes  Orientales  . . .  Arabic . . . 
Egypte  . . .  Irelande  . . .  Pologne  etc.    Paris,  G.  Clottsier,  1653. 

The  achevS  dHmprimer  of  this  curious  work  is  of  the 
8th  May,  1653.  Here  is  nothing  flamboyant,  nothing 
grossly  exaggerated.  Frangois  de  Gouz,  Gentilhomme 
Angevin,  is  a  worldly,  cautious  sort  of  traveler,  of  the 
general  type  of  the  better  known  travelers  who  follow 
in  the  late  17th  Century,  such  as  Ta vernier  or  Bernier. 
He  pokes  fun  at  the  gullible  Vincent  Le  Blanc  (whose 
importance  is  greater  than  his  own  for  the  present  study) 
in  the  following  terms: 

Vincent  LeBlanc  pourroit  disputer  avec  Vlisse  de  la  longueur 
de  ses  Voyages,  il  donne  beaucoup  d'instruction  de  rAffrique 
aux  Geographes  modernes  &  11  seroit  k  desirer  qu'il  eust  sgeu 
les  Langues  Orientales,  afin  de  rapporter  les  noms  propres  des 
heux  ou  il  a  est6.    (Pages  following  Au  lecteur.) 

Interest  in  the  East  Indies,  and  particular  interest  in 
China,  is  evident  in  the  same  period  following  1650. 
It  is  generally  contended  that  the  East  held  no  appre- 
ciable interest  for  French  readers  until  the  last  quarter 
of  the  17th  century.  The  pubUcation  of  the  following 
works  would  seem,  perhaps,  to  modify  this  conclusion: 

Claude  B  Morisot  (editor),  Relations  veritables  et  curieuses  de 
I'isle  de  Madagascar  et  du  Bresil.  Avec  . . .  trois  relations  d'Egypte 
&  une  du  Royaume  de  Perse.   Paris,  1661 . 

Marucci,  Giovanni,  Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  passS  dans  les  Indes 
Orientales  en  ses  trois  provinces  de  Goa,  de  Malabar,  du  Japan, 
de  la  Chine  &  d'autres  pais  (tr.  from  Italian),  Paris,  chez  Cra- 
moisy,  1651. 

Rhodes,  Alexandre  de.  Relation  des  progrez  de  lafoy  au  royaume 
de  la  Cochinchine  (edited  by  Jacques  Machault).  Paris,  chez 
Cramoisy,  1652. 

Sanson,   Nicolas   (d' Abbeville),  L'Asie  en  plusieurs  cartes 


10  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

nouvelles  ...  en  divers  traitUs  de  giographie  et  d'histoire.  Paris, 
1652. 

Rhodes,  Alexandre  de,  Divers  voyages  et  missions  en  la  Chine  & 
autres  royaumes  de  VOrient.    Paris,  chez  Cramoisy,  1663. 

Boym,  Michel,  Briefve  relation  de  la  notable  conversion  des 
personnes  royales  . .  .  enla  Chine.    Paris,  chez  Cramoisy,  1654- 

Martini,  M.  Histoire  de  la  guerre  des  Tartares  contre  la  Chine 
(tr.  from  the  Latin),  Douai,  1654- 

In  the  light  of  this  extensive  publication  of  accounts  of 
voyages,  of  missions,  of  foreign  wars,  other  civilizations 
and  religions,  it  is  only  natural  to  assume  the  existence 
of  a  very  considerable  interest  in  such  accounts  before 
1660,  in  France.  This  interest  has  been  referred  to 
both  by  M.  Martino  (particularly  after  1660)  in  L'Orient 
dans  la  litterature  frangaise  au  xvii  et  au  xviii  siecle,  and 
by  M.  Chinard  in  dealing  with  America.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  works  of  Frangois  Martin  de  Vitr6  (1604), 
of  Jean  Mocquet  (1616),  and  the  translations  of  Acosta 
(1598,  1600,  etc.),  none  of  the  editions  cited  in  this 
chapter  have  been  referred  to  by  either  M.  Martino  or 
M.  Chinard.*"  It  is  therefore  probable  that  this  interest 
in  far  lands,  in  France  before  1660,  an  interest  whose 
study  was  initiated  by  these  two  scholars,  was  even  greater 
than  M.  Martino  or  M.  Chinard  suspected.  There  is 
still  much  to  be  done  before  a  complete  bibliography 
of  published  voyages  in  the  17th  century  in  France  will 
be  available,  and  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  present  writer 
to  contribute  to  the  still  incomplete  list  rather  than  to 
criticize  in  any  way  the  greater  work  of  the  pioneers  in 
this  field. 

*°  M.  Chinard  {op.  cit.  p.  122)  does  cite  the  collected  Jesuit 
Relations.  The  original  Relations  published  by  Cramoisy  almost  at 
the  rate  of  one  small  volume  a  year  during  the  period  1645-1660 
are  perhaps  even  more  impressive  than  the  collection  of  73  volumes 
(1610-1791)  cited  by  M.  Chinard. 


IN   FRENCH  LITERATURE  11 

There  is  record  in  1663,  of  this  interest  in  published  ac- 
counts of  voyages.  It  is  found  in  the  letters  of  Chapelain. 
In  a  letter  dated  December  15th,  1663,  and  addressed 
to  Carrel  de  Sainte-Garde,"  Chapelain  says: 
Nostra  nation  a  chang6  de  goust  pour  les  lectures  et,  au  lieu 
des  romans  qui  sont  tomb^s  avec  la  Calpren^de,  les  voyages  sont 
venus  en  credit  et  tiennent  le  haut  bout  dans  la  cour  et  dans 
la  ville. 

That  this  was  not  a  passing  fancy  in  taste  is  witnessed 
by  the  continued  publication  of  voyages  after  this  date, 
and  in  ever  increasing  volume.  It  is  upon  this  taste  for 
voyages,  that  the  writers  of  Extraordinary  Voyages  after 
1675  depended,  in  part,  for  their  reception  by  the  pubHc. 
It  was  thanks  to  the  popularity  of  published  voyages 
that  the  writers  of  novels  with  voyage  settings  gained 
the  attention  —  and  sometimes  the  credence  —  of  their 
readers. 

There  is  a  didactic  content  in  the  Extraordinary  Voyages^ 
whose  sources  will  be  investigated  in  the  next  chapter. 
The  authors  of  the  Extraordinary  Voyages  were  beset 
by  a  desire  to  preach,  in  somewhat  the  same  way  that 
Plato,  More,  Bacon,  and  Campanella  had  desired  to 
preach. 

It  would  have  been  not  only  a  thankless  but  a  hopeless 
task  to  graft  upon  the  amorous,  the  adventurous,  or 
the  burlesque  novel  of  the  17th  century  the  account 
of  an  almost  perfect  state  of  society.  Creators  of  ideal 
commonwealths  after  1675  turned  for  their  settings  to 
accounts  of  real  voyages  whose  popularity  with  the 
public  was  estabUshed. 

"  Chapelain,  Lettres,  ed.  Tamizey  de  Larroque,  Paris,  1883, 
vol.  ii,  pp.  340-341. 


CHAPTER  II 
IMAGINARY  REALMS  BEFORE  1675 

1.  Before  1600. 

2.  Lea  Hermaphrodites,  1605. 

3.  Two  followers  of  More. 

4.  The  legend  of  the  Incas. 

5.  The  Austral  Land. 

1.  Before  1600 

If,  as  will  be  seen  later,  the  authors  of  Extraordinary 
Voyages  after  1675  turned  to  detailed  accounts  of  real 
voyages  for  material  wherewith  to  substantiate  their 
novels,  it  is  not  so  with  earher  creators  of  imaginary 
realms.  The  careful  documentation  of  events,  of  dates, 
of  places  that  is  evident  in  later  works,  is  distinctly 
lacking  in  earlier  accounts  of  imaginary  states  of 
society.  The  development  of  the  realistic  setting  for 
the  presentation  of  such  ideal  commonwealths  is  a 
gradual  development. 

The  regions  visited  by  Saint  Catherine,  for  instance, 
or  the  fabled  Island  of  Saint  Brendan  are  described  in 
a  medieval  haze  of  the  preternatural.  Even  Charlemagne 
and  his  paladins  are  travelers  of  a  marvelous,  an  almost 
mythical  type.  It  is  a  far  cry  from  these  miraculous 
lands  of  the  Middle  Ages  to  the  imaginary  territories  of 
later  years,  which  may  only  be  reached  by  the  ship- 
wreck of  a  carefully  authenticated  Dutch  or  Portuguese 
merchantman. 

Two  well-known  works  of  imagination  of  the  16th 
century   share  with  their  predecessors  this  lack  of  cir- 

12 


THE   EXTRAORDINARY   VOYAGE  13 

cumstantial  detail:  Thomas  More's  Utopia^  and  Rabelais' 
Pantagruel  (in  particular  Livre  V).  No  one  was  made 
to  believe,  by  the  introduction  of  circumstantial  and 
convincing  details,  that  More's  delightful  fantasy  was 
the  description  of  a  veritable  country.  The  Isle  Son- 
nante  and  the  Pays  de  Lanternois  must  probably  have 
seemed  fantastic  creations  to  Rabelais'  contemporaries, 
however  they  may  be  regarded  by  more  recent  investi- 
gators of  the  subject.  In  both  the  works  just  cited 
there  is,  to  be  sure,  a  reminiscence  of  recent  discoveries 
beyond  the  seas,  but  this  reminiscence  is  far  from  showing 
the  detailed  and  carefully  authenticated  realism  which 
is  subsequently  found. 

2.  Les  Hermaphrodites,  1605 

There  appeared  in  1605  a  satire  on  the  morals  of  the 
court  of  Henri  III,  which  has  the  form  of  an  imaginary 
voyage.  This  is  Les  Hermaphrodites  of  Thomas  Artus. 
The  first  edition  of  this  curious  book  is  very  rare.^ 
Copies  do  exist,  however,  both  at  the  British  Mu- 
seum* and  at  the  Bibliotheque  Nationale  at  Paris.' 
The  author  of  this  satire,  Thomas  Artus,  sieur  d'Embry,* 
wrote  also  some  translations,  besides  epigrams  and  pre- 
dictions in  collaboration  with  other  writers.  Among 
these  are: 

L'histoire  de  la  decadence  de  VEmpire  grec,  et  establissement  de 
celuy  des  Turcs  . . .  et  des  tableaux  prophetiques  predisans  la 
mine  de  la  mesme  monarchie,  par  Artus  Thomas,  Paris,  1620. 

^  M.  Chinard,  in  VAmirique  et  le  r^  exotique,  p.  190,  doubts  the 
existence  of  copies  of  the  first  edition. 

*  Listed  under  "Artus."    Cat.  no.  1079,  b.2. 

»  Listed  under  "Artus."    Cat.  no.  Lb  34/806. 

*  By  reason  of  the  inversion  of  "Artus  Thomas"  for  "Thomaa 
Artus,"  a  confusion  has  arisen,  certain  American  catalogues  listing 
these  works  under  "Thomas"  instead  of  imder  "Artus." 


14  THE   EXTRAORDINARY   VOYAGE 

(The  same):  Avec  la  continuation  de  la  mesme  histoire  jiisques  d 
Van  1612,  -par  T.  Artus.    Paris,  1650} 

Les  Images  ou  tableaux  de  platte  peinture  des  deux  Philostrates 
. . .  mis  en  frangois  par  Blaise  de  Vigenere,  avec  des  epigrammes 
de  T.  A.,  Paris,  1614.^ 

Les  Hermaphrodites  and  a  Discours  de  Jacophile  d  lAmne 
appeared  in  two  parts,  in  a  duodecimo  volume,  according 
to  the  British  Museum  Catalogue  in  1605.  Neither  of 
two  copies  at  the  Bibhotheque  Nationale  at  Paris  has 
name  of  place  or  date  of  pubHcation.  The  second  known 
edition,  however,^  gives  the  following  information: 

on  a  trouv^  . . .  que  cet  ouvrage  n'a  paru  qu'en  1605,  qu'on  le 
vendoit  k  un  prix  excessif,  que  le  Roy  Henri  IV  se  le  fit  lire,  & 
quoyqu'il  le  trouvat  libre  &  trop  hardi,  il  ne  voulut  pourtant 
pas  qu'on  recherchat  I'Autheur  nomrn^  Artus  Thomas.  {Au 
lecteur,  p.  2.) 

The  1697  edition  of  Bayle's  Dictionnaire,  in  a  note  to 
the  Article  Salmads,  mentions  this  book  as  an  ingenious 
satire  on  the  court  of  Henri  III,  but  does  not  give  the 
name  of  the  author. 

The  interest  of  the  Hermaphrodites  of  Thomas  Artus 
for  the  present  study  lies  in  the  fact  that  this  satire  of 
the  France  of  the  late  16th  century,  pubUshed  at  the 
beginning  of  the  17th  century,  attempts  to  present  a 
realistic  setting,  based  upon  accounts  of  genuine  voyages. 

*  This  history  was  originally  written  by  the  Greek  scholar  Chal- 
condylas  (or  Chalcocondylas)  of  the  15th  century,  and  the  French 
version,  with  additions  of  the  17th  century,  is  often  listed  under 
"Chalcondylas." 

•  Subsequent  editions  of  1615,  1629,  1630,  and  1637  would  argue 
a  considerable  interest  in  this  work. 

^  Relation  de  I'isle  des  Hermaphrodites,  etc.  Chez  les  Heritiers 
de  Herman  Demen,  Cologne,  1724.  It  is  this  more  common  edition, 
one  copy  of  which  exists  at  the  Widener  Library,  Harvard  Uni- 
versity, that  is  cited  in  references. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  16 

The  ideal  community  of  More's  Utopia,  and  the  foreign 
lands  visited  by  Pantagruel,  both  show  the  influence  of 
the  accounts  of  discovery.  With  Thomas  Artus,  a  similar 
reflection  is  found  in  the  setting  of  a  satire. 

The  Hermaphrodites  begins  with  a  discussion,  among 
friends,  of  the  new  worlds  discovered  beyond  the  seas. 
As  an  expression  of  the  adventurous  spirit  of  the  time, 
the  following  brief  sentence  may  be  quoted: 

la  plupart  du  monde  ancien,  mesprisant  son  antiquity,  a  mieux 
aym6  chercher,  au  p^ril  de  mille  vies,  quelque  nouvelle  fortune, 
que  de  se  contenter  de  I'ancienne  &  vivre  en  repos  &  tran- 
quillity (p.  1). 

One  of  the  friends  discussing  these  matters  begins  an 
account  of  his  adventures.  The  story  of  these  adventures 
forms  the  rest  of  the  book.  He  and  a  companion  start  to 
return  to  Europe  after  a  long  residence  aux  terres  nouvelles 
descouvertes  .  .  .  ayans  trouve  un  navire  marchand  qui 
estoit  prest  de  faire  voile,  &  qui  tiroit  devers  Lisbonne.^ 

There  is  nothing  more  definite  than  this  by  way  of  orienta- 
tion. After  a  short  voyage,  storm  and  shipwreck  occur, 
followed  by  the  miraculous  escape  of  the  narrator.  These 
events  are  without  the  details  that  enliven  later  Voyages 
of  the  Extraordinary  type.  There  is,  however,  a  simi- 
larity in  the  arrival,  on  a  strange  shore,  of  a  ship- 
wrecked European.  In  this  story  the  omission  of  ampUfy- 
ing  details  of  the  shipwreck  and  subsequent  landing 
detracts  from  the  force  of  the  satire  which  is  to  follow. 
The  adventurer  and  his  two  surviving  comrades  have 
just  finished  thanking  Heaven  for  their  remarkable 
deliverance,  when 

nous  vismes  que  la  terre  sur  laquelle  nous  raarchions  estoit 
toute  flottante,  &  qu'elle  erroit  vagabonde  sur  ce  grand  Ocean 

'  The  use  of  a  merchant  vessel  traveling  the  well-known  route 
from  the  Indies  as  a  means  of  substantiating  the  story  is  noteworthy. 


16  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

sans  aucune  stability.  Lors  "saisis  de  nouvelle  frayeur  nous  ne 
89avions  quelle  resolution  prendre,  trouvant  le  faict  tant  estrange, 
qu'^  peine  pouvions  nous  ad j  ouster  foy  h  nostre  veue  (pp.  4-5). 

The  resemblance  of  this  vaisseau  terrestre  .  .  .  par  tout 
si  fertile  &  florissant  (p.  5)  to  the  island  of  St.  Brendan, 
is  apparent.  It  is  to  be  noted  however,  that  the  vogue 
of  the  floating  island,  like  that  of  the  unicorn,  was  still 
fairly  great  after  1600.^  There  follows  a  description  of 
the  beautiful  palace  found  by  the  adventurer.  The 
architecture  of  the  building  and  its  grace  are  particularly 
astonishing: 

Le  Marbre,  le  Jaspe,  le  Porphire,  Tor,  &  la  diversity  des  4maux 
estoit  ce  qu'il  y  avoit  de  moindre  (p.  5). 

With  little  delay  begins  the  investigation  of  the  in- 
habitants, their  customs  and  manners.  It  is  a  virulent 
and  transparent  satire  of  the  court  of  a  French  King. 
For  over  ninety  pages  of  a  duodecimo  volume  the  vanity, 
over-dress,  pettiness,  effeminacy,  and  immorality  of  the 
King  and  his  courtiers  are  discussed  and  expatiated 
upon.  In  all  these  pages  there  is  no  story.  The  ad- 
venturer witnessed  the  ceremonies,  heard  the  arguments, 
and  read  the  book  of  laws  of  this  depraved  community. 
This  book  of  laws,  which  the  adventurer  gives  in  full, 
is  in  the  form  of  a  royal  proclamation.  It  contains  a 
detailed  denial  of  religion,  morality,  honesty,  common 
decency,  taste,  manners,  and  reason.  Let  a  very  limited 
quotation  suffice  to  show  the  extent  of  this  perversion 
of  society  by  royal  edict  in  the  Isle  des  Hermaphrodites: 

Permettons  ce  qu'on  apelle  perfidie,  trahison,  &  ingratitude, 
que  nous  tenons  pour  sagesse,  bonne  conduitte,  &  gentillesse 
d'esprit  (p.  68). 

»  See  serious  criticism  of  a  book  dealing  with  this  subject  in 
Journal  des  Sfavans,  2  aoAt,  1677. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  17 

nous  voulons  qu'on  face  cas  d'un  mary  en  proportion  de  la 
multitude  des  comes  qu'il  portera,  ainsi  que  les  chasseurs  font 
des  Cerfs  (p.  42). 

This  proclamation  of  vice  covers  the  whole  range  of 
human  affairs.  From  hypocrisy  to  murder,  rape  and 
incest,  there  is  no  crime  that  is  not  permitted,  nay 
promoted. 

The  hermaphroditism  of  these  people  consists  in  their 
lack  of  true  manly  virtues  (no  physiological  hermaph- 
roditism being  mentioned).  In  the  virile  eyes  of  the 
author  the  attention  of  these  people  to  fine  raiment, 
cosmetics,  and  soft  indulgence  makes  them  less  than 
men,  and  more  like  women.  Along  with  a  condemnation 
of  dandies,  fops,  and  courtiers,  there  is  also  a  condem- 
nation of  sex  perversions  of  which  no  extended  exposition 
is  necessary. 

At  the  end  of  the  book  appear  some  verses  Contre  Us 
Hermaphrodites,  and  a  Discours  du  souverain  Men  de 
I'homme.  These  two  "items"  are  bound  to  the  rest  of 
the  story  by  a  simple  device.  The  adventurer  who  tells 
the  story  says  that  these  were  given  him  by  a  guide, 
and  that  he  sat  down  and  read  them.  He  simply  re- 
counts what  he  has  read.  The  story  itself  is  ended 
abruptly  by  another  inartistic  expedient.  The  adventurer 
tires  of  talking,  and  promises  to  continue  his  account  at 
some  later  time.  Thus  he  very  simply  avoids  the  neces- 
sity for  narrating  the  return  of  the  travelers  to  Europe. 

The  Description  de  I'isle  des  hermaphrodites  is  not  an 
Extraordinary  Voyage.  It  is  a  destructive,  satirical  criti- 
cism of  existing  conditions,  under  a  transparent  cloak. 
Its  interest  for  the  present  study  lies  in  its  feeble  attempt 
at  realism  on  the  basis  of  current  accounts  of  voyages, 
and  in  its  being  written  in  French,  rather  than  in  Latin.^° 

^"  There  are  a  number  of  other  matters  bound  with  this  book  in 
the  1724  edition,  one  copy  of  which  is  at  the  Widener  Library  at 


18  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

3.  Two  Followers  of  More 

Francis  Bacon's  Nova  Atlantis  and  Campanella's 
Civitas  Soils  both  appeared  early  in  the  17th  century.*^ 
Both  are  of  the  general  type  of  the  Utopia.  It  will  be 
recalled  that  the  travelers  in  Bacon's  Atlantis  set  forth 
from  Peru  for  China  and  Japan,  and  travel  five  months 
with  fair  but  soft  winds  before  reaching  their  happy 
destination.  In  Campanella's  dialogue,  it  is  only  the 
first  speech  of  the  Genoese  Sea  Captain  —  the  first  four 
lines  —  that  deals  with  the  geographical  setting,  and  this 
is  hazy  in  the  extreme.  Doubtless  "Taprobane"  meant 
even  less  to  French  readers  in  1635  than  "five  months' 
travel  from  Peru."  And  but  for  "Taprobane"  the  City  of 
the  Sun  is  not  oriented. ^^  The  natural  science  element  of 
the  Atlantis  as  well  as  the  rehgious  ideas  of  Campanella 
and  those  relating  to  "the  preservation  of  the  species" 
will  be  discussed  in  their  relation  to  the  work  of  Foigny, 
Vairasse,  and  F^nelon  after  1675.  It  is  intended  here 
simply  to  note  the  lack  of  detail  to  substantiate  the 
statements  of  Bacon's  and  Campanella's  travelers.  These 
philosophers  are  too  intent  upon  theory;  the  welding 
of  the  spirit  of  adventure  and  travel  with  the  spirit  of 
protest  against  existing  evils  has  not  yet  taken  place. 
The  didactic  element  is  too  pronounced  in  Bacon  and 
Campanella  to  allow  of  much  interest  in  the  setting. 

Harvard  University.  These  would  be  of  interest  perhaps  to  students 
of  intrigue  and  personal  details  concerning  courtiers  under  Henri  III, 
but  have  no  bearing  on  the  present  study. 

"  Civitas  Solis,  published' at  Paris,  1637.  Nova  Atlantis,  pub- 
lished in  1627  (French  translations  not  until  18th  Century). 

"  "Taprobane,"  generally  Ceylon,  is  used  in  some  17th  Century 
accounts  of  voyages  to  mean  Java  and  Sumatra. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  19 

4.   The  Legend  of  the  Incas 

The  numerous  translations  and  editions  of  the  story 
of  the  Incas  in  the  17th  century  in  France  are  fairly 
well  known.     The  first  translation  is  of  1633: 

le  Commentaire  royal  ou  VHistoire  des  Yncas,  rois  du  Peru, 
escritte  en  langue  peruvienne  "par  I'Ynca  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega, 
natif  de  Cozco,  et  fidellement  traduite  sur  sa  version  espagnole 
par  I.  Beavdoin. 

Other  editions  of  this  translation  in  French  before  1675 
are  of  1658  and  1672. 

The  translations  of  Plato  and  of  Plutarch  had  brought 
to  France  the  legend  of  perfect  government,  but  in  a 
haze  of  departed  glory.  The  story  of  the  Incas,  according 
to  Garcilaso,  was  an  account  of  a  modern  and  almost 
perfect  state.  It  was  also  in  some  measure  the  defense 
of  regulation  of  the  affairs  of  men  by  a  wise  and  pater- 
nal government.  In  one  sense,  the  idealized  community 
of  the  Incas  was  a  reproach  against  existing  evils  of  gov- 
ernment and  social  affairs  in  Europe.  The  truth  of 
Garcilaso's  statements  has  been  much  questioned  in 
later  times,  but  there  is  httle  doubt  of  their  acceptance 
as  being  true,  at  the  time  of  these  translations  into  French. 
It  must  have  been  more  forceful  and  convincing  in  many 
ways  than  the  far-off  and  unsubstantiated  account  of 
the  Utopia  of  More,  or  of  the  Nova  Atlantis  of  Bacon. 
The  authenticity  of  the  account  is  based  on  the  repre- 
sentation that  the  author  was  a  descendant  of  the  Incas 
as  well  as  of  one  of  the  Spanish  conquerors  under  Pizarro. 

The  History  of  the  Incas  is  briefly  the  account  of  a 
succession  of  kings.     The  first  Inca  and  his  sister-wife 

' posed  their  will  and  their  superior  minds  upon  the 

»civiUzed  inhabitants  whom  they  found  in  ancient 
Peru.     Claiming  to  be  descended  from  the  Sun,  these 


20  THE    EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

two  took  to  themselves  the  direction  of  religion  as  well 
as  of  government.  Their  descendants  were  the  rulers, 
and  later  became  the  oligarchy  of  the  land.  Each  king 
and  queen  of  this  nation  was  directly  descended  from  the 
first  Inca  and  his  sister-wife.  The  succeeding  kings 
subjugated  neighboring  tribes,  built  aqueducts  for  irri- 
gation, and  organized  the  administration  of  the  country. 
Each  ten  men  had  a  supervisor  responsible  to  a  higher 
official  who  in  turn  was  responsible  to  still  another. 
At  the  summit  of  this  pyramid  was  The  Inca,  the  monarch 
and  high  priest  of  his  people. 

By  the  building  of  store-houses  and  by  the  hoarding 
of  grain  in  abundant  years  for  distribution  in  years  of 
dearth,  by  the  regulation  of  clothing,  by  the  assignment 
of  duties  to  all  men  within  certain  age  limits,  and  by  the 
requirement  of  a  certain  minimum  of  labor  for  the  State 
on  the  part  of  each  individual,  the  paternal  form  of 
government  supplied  the  needs  of  each  subject.  The 
kindness  and  forethought  of  the  kings  is  epitomized  in 
the  following  sentence: 

en  un  mot  ils  se  conduisoient  d'une  telle  mani^re  envers  tout  le 
monde,  qu'on  pouvoit  les  apeller  de  bons  peres  de  famille,  ou 
de  fiddles  oeconomes,  plutot  que  des  Rois." 

Quite  as  interesting  as  is  this  eulogy  of  the  paternal 
form  of  government  is  the  Deistic  point  of  view  of  the 
initiated  among  the  Incas.  The  common  people  wor- 
shiped the  Sun,  and  the  formal  religion  of  the  State 
was  sun-worship.  The  general  faith  held  also  that  the 
soul  is  immortal,  and  that  the  wicked  are  punished  after 
death  (Livre  I,  ch.  vii).  Among  the  kings  themselves, 
who  were  also  the  priests  and  theologians,  there  is  more 
than  sun-worship.  The  Inca  Roca  (Livre  IV,  ch.  xvii) 
is  reported  to  have  said  that: 

"  Livre  V,  ch.  xi.    The  edition  cited  is  that  of  1737. 


IN   FRENCH  LITERATURE  21 

toutes  les  fois  qu'il  consid^roit  la  grandeur,  la  lumiSre  &  la 
beauts  du  ciel,  il  en  tiroit  cette  consequence;  qu'il  falloit  bien 
que  le  Pachacamac  (c'est  ainsi  qu'on  appelle  Dieu)  filt  un  Roi 
fort  puissant,  puisqu'il  avoit  une  si  belle  demeure. 

The  Inca  Huayna  Capac  (Livre  IX,  ch.  x)  uses  a  peculiarly- 
rationalistic  argument  to  prove  the  existence  of  an  in- 
visible God  (the  Pachacamac): 

ce  Soleil,  qui  est  notre  P^re,  doit  relever  d'un  autre  Seigneur 
plus  puissant  que  lui,  &  par  le  commandement  duquel  il  fait  la 
course  qu'on  lui  voit  faire  tons  les  jours,  sans  que  jamais  il 
s'arrete.  Car  si  le  Soleil  notre  Pere  6toit  souverain  Seigneur  de 
toutes  les  choses  d'ici-bas,  il  y  a  grande  aparence  qu'il  se  re- 
poseroit  quelquefois  pour  son  plaisir,  puisqu'il  n'y  a  point  de 
n^cessit^  qui  le  pM  contraindre  a  marcher  tou jours. 

That  a  people  without  knowledge  either  of  Europe  or 
of  an  orthodox  revelation  should  have  not  only  an  ideal 
form  of  government  but  a  belief  in  the  immortality  of 
the  soul  and  in  the  existence  of  an  imseen  God  is  the 
striking  report  of  Garcilaso.  That  the  translations  of 
this  work  were  numerous  argues  not  only  that  it  was. 
well  known  in  France,  but  conversely  that  it  was  a  book 
of  great  interest  to  the  public.  The  insistence  of  Gar-^ 
cilaso  upon  manual  labor  and  upon  tilling  the  soil  is  as 
striking  as  is  his  insistence  upon  the  king's  responsibihty 
for  the  welfare  of  his  people.  With  the  publication  of 
this  book  there  came  to  French  readers  an  account  of 
an  almost  perfect  state  of  society  in  a  modern  land  — 
a  real  land  —  known  to  exist." 

"  There  is  a  desert  island  story  (Vol.  I,  p.  17)  in  this  book  which 
is  worthy  of  mention.  Pedro  Serrano  is  left  on  a  desert  island  and 
subsists  on  turtle  meat  for  a  long  time.  Another  castaway  joins 
him,  and  the  two  subsist  until  rescued.  The  grotesque  "realism" 
of  the  following  description  of  the  man  Serrano  when  rescued  is 
worthy  of  citation:  la  barbe  .  .  .  Vincommodoit  dans  le  lit  et  Vempichoit 
de  dormir.  This  story  of  Serrano  has  been  mentioned  by  F.  Wack- 
witz,  Entstehungsgeschichte  von  Defoe's  Robinson  Crusoe,  Berlin,  1909. 


"22  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

5.  The  Austral  Land 

The  modern  idea  of  an  Austral  Land  or  continent 
came  first  to  Europe  in  the  Voyages  of  Marco  Polo, 
published  in  Latin  about  1485.  In  reading  Marco  Polo, 
one  does  not  meet  the  idea  of  a  great  continent  known, 
but  of  a  great  series  of  islands  visited  (Java,  Sumatra, 
etc.),  together  with  rumors  of  a  great  continent  beyond. 
The  voyage  of  Gonneville  to  the  coast  of  South  America, 
and  his  report  of  a  Terre  Australe  is  fairly  well  known.^' 
This  intrepid  sailor,  Captain  Binot  Paulmier  de  Gonne- 
ville, brought  back  from  the  Southern  Hemisphere  a 
native,  named  Essom^rik,  the  son  of  a  local  king.  The 
party  was  almost  lost,  through  an  attack  by  pirates, 
just  before  landing  on  their  return  to  Europe.  De- 
scendants of  Essomerik  (who  was  married  to  a  French 
lady  after  proper  admission  to  her  faith)  are  traced  by 
De  Brosses  to  the  year  1725.  One  of  these  descendants  of 
Essomerik,  his  grandson,  was  the  author  of  a  pubhcation 
referring  to  the  Austral  Land,  which  is  of  interest  in  the 
present  study: 

Mimoires  touchant  I'etablissement  d'une  mission  chrestienne  dans 
le  troisihne  monde  autrement  appele  la  Terre  Australe,  Miridionale, 
Antartique,  et  inconnue.  Dediez  a  Nostre  S.  Pere  le  Pape 
Alexandre  VII.  Par  un  Ecclesiastique  Originaire  de  cette  mesme 
terre. 

These  memoires  were  published  by  Gabriel  Cramoisy  at 
Paris  in  December  1663,  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
author,  the  abb6  Paulmier,  chanoine  de  Lisieux.  An 
arrangement  was  made  later  to  the  satisfaction  of  both 
the  author  and  the  pubUsher,  the  name  of  the  author 
being  placed  on  the  title  page  in  printing  after  January 

"  C.   De  Brosses,   HisUnre  des   Navigations  aux  terres  atistrales,  . 
Paris,  1756,  pp.  115-118,  and  M.  D'Avezac,  Relation  authentique 
du  voyage  du  Capitaine  de  GonneviUe,  Paris,  1869. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  23 

1664.  It  would  seem  that  there  must  have  been  some 
considerable  interest  at  the  time  in  this  publication. 

Besides  Captain  de  Gonneville,  who  wrote  his  version 
of  the  voyage  of  1503-1504  early  in  the  16th  century, 
the  voyage  of  Magellan  (1519),  of  Saavedra  (1528), 
and  of  Garcia  de  Loaisa  (1525)  had  been  published  in 
Latin  by  De  Bry  and  others.  The  fact  that  these  later 
explorers  visited  Australasia  rather  than  South  America 
made  little  difference  to  the  reading  public  in  France  in 
the  17th  century.  Gonneville  himself  gave  no  definite 
information  as  to  where  he  had  been,  and  for  the  average 
reader  of  the  17th  century  in  France  the  Tierra  del  Fuego 
and  Australia  were  very  much  the  same  thing. 

The  detailed  and  substantiated  account  of  the  Por- 
tuguese Captain  Fernando  de  Quir  (or  Queiros)  of  his 
voyage  to  Australia  (1606)  was  widely  known  by  1630, 
thanks  to  pubhcation  of  this  account  both  in  De  Bry's 
India  Orientalis  (Liber  X)  and  in  French  translation.^* 
Similarly,  the  voyage  to  AustraUa  of  Captain  Frangois 
Pelsart  (1629)  was  known  through  the  pubUcations  of 
Melchisedech  Th^venot.^^  The  account  of  Pelsart  is 
realistic  and  detailed,  but  not  in  any  way  Utopian.  On 
the  contrary,  de  Quir  had  claimed  many  and  varied 
blessings  for  his  newly  discovered  land.  Other  accounts 
of  voyages  to  Australasia,  of  less  importance  in  the 
present  study,  but  published  in  the  17th  century  before 
1675,  are  those  of  Willem  Schouten  (1615)  of  Jacques 
I'Hermite  (1624),  and  of  Abel  Tasman  (1642)  which  may 
be  found  either  in  Th^venot's  collection  ^^  or  in  the  English 
Purchas'  Pilgrimes  or  the  Hackluyt  Collection. 

"  Regueste  prisenti  au  Roy  d'Espagne  par  le  Capitaine  Pierre 
Ferdinand  de  Quir,  sur  la  descouverte  de  la  dnquiesme  partie  du 
monde  appelie  terre  Aiistrale  incogneue,  etc.,  Paris,  1617. 

"  Relations  de  divers  voyages  curieux  qui  n'ont  pas  esU  publi4es, 
Paris,  1663-1672.    Another  edition  appeared  in  1696. 


24  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

With  all  of  these  accounts,  there  had  grown  up  a  sort 
of  legend  of  the  "Terre  Australe  inconnue,"  where 
almost  every  delight  of  climate  and  fertiUty  of  the 
soil  might  be  found.  Many  French  people,  mission- 
aries, adventurers,  traders,  younger  sons,  and  vaga- 
bonds had  already  been  to  America  (largely  the  Antilles 
and  Canada,  although  some  missionaries  and  a  few  ex- 
plorers to  Brazil).  The  American  setting  was  ideal  for 
works  of  the  imagination  with  a  primary  interest  in  ad- 
venture and  piracy.^*  This  same  setting  could  hardly 
be  used  for  an  imaginary  and  uncorrupted  people  having 
a  complete,  materialistic  civilization.  That  American 
Indians  had  no  houses,  no  canals,  practically  no  agri- 
culture was  common  knowledge  in  France  toward  1670. 
The  ideal  civilization  of  the  Incas  was  generally  known 
to  have  perished  either  before  the  invasion  of  Pizarro 
or  at  the  time  of  this  invasion.  There  remained,  however, 
the  "Terre  Australe  inconnue,"  a  vague  sort  of  legend 
similar  in  a  way  to  the  ''Tahiti"  legend  of  a  later  day. 
It  is  in  this  setting  that  the  first  two  Extraordinary 
Voyages  place  their  ideal  peoples.  Before  discussing  the 
complete  novels  of  Extraordino,ry  Voyage,  however,  it 
seems  wise  to  consider  a  hterary  ancestor  of  this  novel. 

"  See  Nouvelles  de  I'Amerique  ou  le  Mercure  Arniriquain,  Rouen, 
1678  (cited  by  M.  Chinard  as  an  example  of  interest  in  adventure, 
piracy,  and  abduction).  This  book  consists  of  three  hair-raising 
nouvelles,  whose  detailed  attempts  at  realism  are  sometimes  revolting 
and  sometimes  laughable. 


CHAPTER  III 
PRECURSORS  OF  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

1.  Vincent  Le  Blanc.     Philosophic  Travels,  1648. 

(A  literary  ancestor  of  the  Extraordinary  Voyage.) 

2.  L'lle  Imaginaire,  1658. 

(A  Satire  with  geographic  setting.) 

1.   Vincent  Le  Blanc.    Philosophic  Travels,  1648 

In  August  1648  there  appeared  in  Paris  a  small  quarto 
volume  of  travels,  which,  although  not  an  Extraordinary 
Voyage  as  defined  in  this  study,  merits  some  extended 
consideration.  Because  of  its  great  realism  and  decided 
though  slight  philosophic  content,  it  may  be  considered 
as  a  direct  ancestor  of  the  Extraordinary  Voyages  which 
follow  1675,  just  as  the  early  Utopias  may  be  considered 
direct  ancestors  of  this  type  of  novel  because  of  their 
large  philosophic  element  and  an  indisputable,  though 
faint,  realistic  setting.    The  title  of  this  curious  book  is: 

Les  Voyages  Fameux  Du  Sieur  Vincent  Le  Blanc,  Marseillois, 
(Qu'il  a  fails  depuis  I'aage  de  douze  ans  iusques  a  soixante, 
aux  quatre  parties  du  monde.)  Redigez  fidellement  sur  ses  Memoir es 
&  Registres,  par  Pierre  Bergeron,  Parisien,  d,  Paris,  Chez  Gervais 
Clovsier,  MDCXLVIII,  auec  priuilege  du  Roy. 

In  the  first  edition  of  1648,  the  Epistre  is  dedicated  to 
Messire  Eustache  Picot,  Conseiller,  Aumosnier  du  Roy, 
.  .  .  etc.,  and  is  signed  Louys  Coulon.  There  is  also  the 
Priuilege  du  Roy  .  .  .  Donne  a  Paris,  le  15  iour  de  Sep- 
tembre,  Van  de  grace  1647.  The  achevS  d'imprimer  does 
not  appear  in  the  first  edition,  but  in  the  second  edition 

25 


26  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

of  1649,  is  found:  Acheui  d'imprimer  pour  la  premiere  foia 
le  18  tour  d'Aoust  1648.    Les  exemplaires  ont  esU  fournis. 

M.  Chinard  mentions  ^  an  edition  of  1658  at  Paris,  and 
in  addition  translations  in  Dutch  (Amsterdam,  1654) 
and  in  English  (London,  1660)  .^  M.  Chinard  has  treated 
this  book  as  an  example  of  exotic  interest  in  the  17th 
century  in  France.  That  it  was  widely  read  would 
seem  even  more  certain  in  the  Ught  of  the  editions  in 
French  of  1648  and  1649,  followed  in  1658  by  the  edition 
referred  to  by  M.  Chinard.' 

The  Voyages  of  Le  Blanc  are  in  all  probabiUty  what 
they  purport  to  be  —  the  diary  and  mimoires  of  ia  man 
who  traveled  extensively,  published  with  additions  and 
revisions  by  a  lawyer.  Pierre  Bergeron,  an  advocat  au 
Parlement  de  Paris,  seems  to  have  been  a  man  deeply 
interested  in  travels.  In  his  Relation  des  voyages  en 
Tartaric  .  .  .  plus  un  Traicte  des  Tar  tares  .  .  .  avec  un 
abrege  de  VHistoire  des  Sarasins,  of  1634,*  he  shows  famil- 
iarity with  the  work  of  Hackluyt,  Purchas,  Marco  Polo, 
as  well  as  with  some  then  unpublished  manuscripts  re- 
lating to  travels  in  the  Near  East.  Among  these  un- 
published manuscripts  mentioned  in  1634  by  Bergeron, 
is  that  which  appeared  fourteen  years  later  as  the  Voyages 
fameux  du  sieur  Vincent  Le  Blanc.  That  Pierre  Bergeron 
had  the  manuscript  of  Le  Blanc's  notes  at  hand  in  1634 
is  indicated  by  references  to  these  notes  in  the  Traidi  des 
Tartares  and  in  the  Histoire  des  Sarasins  of  that  year.' 

*  G.  Chinard,  L'AmSrique  et  le  rive  exotiqae,  p.  79. 

*  Op.  ciY.  p.  437.  Brunet  cites  the  Voyages  of  Le  Blanc  as  Paris, 
1649,  ou  Troyes,  1658  in-4  (no.  19897). 

*  The  first  edition  has  not  been  mentioned  before  to  my  knowledge. 
One  copy  of  it  may  be  foimd  in  the  New  York  Public  Library. 

*  Paris,  826  pp.  in-8. 

'  Traicti  des  Tartares,  p.  105;  Histoire  des  Sarasins,  p.  13.  Men- 
tion is  made  of  Vincent  Blanc  MarseiUois  and  of  his  voyage  en  Arabie 
non  encor  imjnimL 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  27 

In  the  Advis  au  Lecteur  of  the  first  edition  of  Les  Voyages 
fameux  du  sieur  Vincent  Le  Blanc,  it  is  stated  that  Pierre 
Bergeron  and  feu  Monsieur  Perez  Con^eiUer  au  Parkment 
de  Provence  knew  Le  Blanc  when  he  was  aUve,  and  honored 
him  after  his  death  by  publishing  his  memoires.  It  is 
really  of  Uttle  importance  whether  this  be  true  or  not. 
In  any  event  it  seems  rather  unhkely  that  Pierre  Bergeron 
foresaw  in  1634  that  he  would  be  able  to  foist  a  fictitious 
"Vincent  Le  Blanc"  on  the  reading  pubUc  fom-teen  years 
later,  and  so  took  pains  to  mention  him  in  the  TraictS 
des  Tartares.  There  are  many  matters  in  the  quarto  vol- 
ume of  Les  Voyages  fameux  that  were  plainly  inserted 
by  the  editor.  The  Troisieme  Partie,  which  deals  with 
America  and  the  Antilles  is  evidently  copied  from  other 
relations.  Certainly  Bergeron,  or  some  collaborator,  had 
read  the  Histoire  des  Yncas  before  writing  the  part  deal- 
ing with  Peru.  There  is  however  a  convincing  realism 
of  personal  experience  in  the  First  and  Second  Parts  of 
the  book,  dealing  respectively  with  Asia  and  with  Africa. 
Whether  this  personal  and  realistic  element  of  the  first 
part  of  the  book  is  that  which  originally  existed  in  the  diary 
of  one  man,  Vincent  Le  Blanc,  or  whether  it  is  a  composite 
of  various  such  diaries,  matters  little  after  all. 

In  reading  carefully  the  Premiere  Partie  and  Seconde 
Partie  of  this  book,  one  is  constantly  in  the  presence  of 
two  types  of  men  —  men  of  widely  different  viewpoints. 
It  seems  easy  to  beUeve  that  Vincent  Le  Blanc  did  live, 
did  travel,  and  did  leave  record  of  his  adventures.  Cer- 
tainly no  one  staying  in  Paris  could  have  invented  all 
the  circumstantial  details  in  the  story.  That  the  editor 
took  these  details  from  the  notes  of  one  or  more  travelers 
and  added  to  them  from  his  own  wide  reading  of  travels 
is  also  easy  of  belief.  Upon  these  hypotheses  there  are 
throughout  the  Premiere  Partie  and  the  Seconde  Partie 
two  men  involved.     One  is  a  frank  adventurer,  trader, 


28  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

and  wanderer,  a  man  interested  in  the  strange,  the  ex- 
citing, the  curious,  and  the  supernatural.  This  is  Vin- 
cent Le  Blanc,  trader  and  traveler.  He  readily  beUeves 
what  is  told  him,  and  frequently  recounts  what  he  has 
heard  as  if  these  matters  were  of  first-hand  knowledge. 
The  things  in  which  Le  Blanc  believes  are  legion :  snakes 
with  wings,  catching  fish  by  use  of  witchcraft,  dishes 
which  will  hold  anj^hing  except  poison,  and  which  break 
when  poison  is  poured  into  them.  He  is  canny  and 
resourceful  with  respect  to  money,  bargains,  passports, 
and  the  influence  of  petty  officials.  He  hates  vermin, 
Portuguese  ships  and  Portuguese  ship-captains.  He 
delights  in  murders,  hangings,  pubUc  executions,  and 
amorous  incidents. 

The  second  man  whose  presence  is  felt  throughout 
the  book  is  evidently  a  lawyer.  There  is  an  interest  in 
legal  matters  which  is  quite  foreign  to  what  one  would 
imagine  to  be  the  interest  of  a  trader  such  as  Le  Blanc. 
In  a  story  fairly  bristling  with  anecdotes  of  hangings, 
abductions,  and  sudden  death,  there  are  very  few  anec- 
dotes of  law  cases.  There  are,  however,  many  references 
to  laws  and  trials.  This  law  interest  has  plainly  been 
inserted,  together  with  other  matters,  by  Bergeron  the 
editor. 

M.  Chinard '  has  called  attention  to  the  story  of  young 
Le  Blanc's  early  departure  from  the  parental  roof  in 
Marseilles  by  stowing  away  on  a  vessel  bound  for  the 
Levant,  as  well  as  to  the  account  of  his  first  shipwreck. 
The  young  adventurer  is  soon  in  the  Holy  Land,  where 
he  finds  the  manna  from  Heaven  to  his  hking! '  After 
this  early  test  of  the  reader's  powers  of  belief,  there  fol- 
lows a  series  of  marvelous  and  very  badly  written  in- 

•  L'Am&rique  et  le  rive  exotique,  pp.  80-81. 

">  Voyages  de  Le  Blanc,  p.  7.  (It  is  the  edition  of  1648  that  is 
cited.) 


IN  FRENCH  IJTERATURE  29 

cidents.  A  Christian  disguises  himself  as  a  dervish, 
and  waits  six  years  for  an  opportunity  to  murder 
an  old  enemy.  People  steal  in  and  out  of  harems. 
Le  Blanc  traverses  Persia,  Arabia,  and  a  large  part  of 
India,  Ceylon,  Java,  and  Siam  in  the  First  Part  of  the 
book.  Over  two  hundred  and  fifty  pages  (small  quarto) 
deahng  with  his  travels  in  Asia,  are  filled  with  incidents 
of  piracy,  shipwreck,  murder,  plague,  poisoning,  witch- 
craft, and  with  description  of  natural  phenomena. 

The  Second  Part  deals  with  Africa,  including  Mada- 
gascar, Le  Blanc  goes  from  Zanzibar  to  Cairo,  overland, 
giving  glass  beads  and  necklaces  to  the  royalty  he  meets. 

The  Third  Part,  dealing  with  voyages  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean and  to  the  two  Americas,  is  quite  different  from  the 
preceding  portion  of  the  book.  Except  for  one  incident 
of  being  captured  by  the  Spanish  and  held  prisoner  in 
North  A''rica,  there  is  Uttle  to  remind  the  reader  of  the 
first  parts  of  the  book.  The  trading  element,  ever 
present  in  the  travels  in  Asia  and  Africa,  is  distinctly 
lacking.  Quite  evidently,  this  last  part  of  the  book  is  an 
adaptation,  made  by  Bergeron  or  some  collaborator,  of 
impersonal  accounts  of  voyages  which  they  had  at  hand. 
That  the  man  who  made  a  story  of  Le  Blanc's  diary  was 
famiUar  with  other  accounts  of  voyages  is  evident  through- 
out the  book.  The  gorgeous  imagination  and  petty  per- 
sonal interests  of  Le  Blanc  are  punctuated  all  along  with 
marginal  notes  such  as  "Comme  Marc  Pole  remarque 
de  la  Tartarie,  livre  2,  ch.  18,"  and  similar  interpolations. 
The  real  Le  Blanc,  interested  in  trading  and  in  avoiding 
vermin,  can  scarcely  have  been  a  reader  of  other  people's 
Voyages.  One  would  imagine  that  he  was  rather  too 
much  occupied  with  making  voyages  of  his  own.  The 
relation  of  the  two  men,  Pierre  Bergeron  and  Vincent 
Le  Blanc,  is  however  of  secondary  importance.  Those 
who  read  the  book  at  the  time  it  appeared  doubtless  did 


30  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

SO  because  it  is  a  narrative  of  adventure.  Even  to-day- 
it  is  a  story  worth  reading,  as  a  compendium  of  all  the 
known  forms  of  exaggeration  and  prevarication. 

The  interest  of  the  book  for  the  present  study  of  the 
Extraordinary  Voyage  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  embodies  all 
the  characteristics  of  this  type  of  novel,  barring  the 
"imaginary"  element.  That  some  such  man  as  Vincent 
Le  Blanc  hved  and  left  an  account  (even  exaggerated) 
of  his  travels,  places  the  book  outside  the  category  of 
novels  of  imaginary  voyage.  That  Le  Blanc  exaggerates, 
not  to  say  Ues  flamboyantly,  does  not  alter  the  fact  that 
this  is  the  account  of  a  real,  and  not  of  an  imaginary 
voyage. 

It  will  be  found  in  the  analyses  in  later  chapters  of  this 
study,  that  the  Extraordinary  Voyage  has  two  distinct 
parts.  One  is  realistic,  the  other  theoretical  or  "philo- 
sophic." That  there  is  realism  in  Le  Blanc,  no  one  would 
deny.  There  are  plenty  of  complaints  of  boils,  vermin, 
and  ill-smelling  cisterns  to  convince  the  reader  that  the 
story  is  based  upon  actual  experiences.  That  there  is  no 
philosophic  element  in  this  book  has  been  contended  by 
M.  Chinard.^  The  man  Le  Blanc  may  not  have  been 
philosophically  inchned.  But  thanks  to  the  collabora- 
tion of  Pierre  Bergeron,  the  book  of  his  voyages  does 
contain  a  considerable  amount  of  comparison  between 
the  happy  state  of  society  in  foreign  lands  and  the  mis- 
erable state  of  affairs  in  Europe.  There  are  also  many 
passages  referring  to  rehgious  liberty.  A  few  quotations 
will  suffice  to  indicate  this  polemic  content. 

^  L'AmMque  et  le  r&ve  exotiqtie,  p.  83.     Here  occurs: 

Chez  Leblanc,  il  ne  faut  s'attendre  k  trouver  aucune  idde, 
aucune  th6orie;  il  est  naif  et  enfantin  par  sa  cr6dulit6  comme  par 
son  amour  du  merveilleux.  Seules,  les  premieres  pages  de  son 
r6cit,  .  .  .  montrent  h  n'en  pas  douter  que,  contrairement  k  ce 
que  Ton  dit  trop  souvent,  le  goAt  de  I'aventure,  de  la  mer,  et  des 
ties  d^sertes  n'a  pas  ^t^  apport^  chez  nous  par  le  Robinson  anglais. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  31 

There  is  a  Mohammedan  ruler  (p.  38)  qui  laisse  viure 
les  Chrestiens  en  liberte.  Speaking  of  India,  there  is 
mention  (p.  66)  of  the  people  called: 

Gusarates,  qui  est  la  nation  la  plus  iuste,  raisonnable  &  religieuse 
de  tout  I'Orient;  car  h  la  maniere  des  anciens  Pytagoriens,  ils 
ne  mangent  chose  qui  ait  eu  vie  ...  lis  ne  font  mal  h  personne, 
&  ne  respandent  pas  mesme  le  sang  de  leurs  ennemis. 

This  stands  cheek  by  jowl  with  accounts  of  bloodshed 
over    reUgious    differences    among    Christians.     Again: 

les  estrangers  y  viuent  dans  la  mesme  franchise  &  liberty  que 

ceux  du  pais,  chacun  en  sa  Religion  (p.  70) . 

Chacun  vit  la  en  sa  Religion  auec  toute  liberty  (p.  81). 

Chacun  y  vit  en  asseurance,  k  cause  de  la  bonne  iustice  qui  y 

est  rendue,  &  les  loix  y  sonc  si  bien  obseru6es  que  personne  ne 

les  ose  enfraindre  crainte  de  punitio  (p.  111). 

II  y  en  a  qui  n'ont  aucune  Religion,  &  toutesfois  ils  vont  naturelle- 

ment  k  l'immortalit6  de  I'ame  &  k  quelque  prouidence  (pp. 

151-152). 

One  reads  of  the  Javans  (p.  146)  that  they  are  cannibals, 
but: 

cette.  canaille  a  coustume  de  dire  que  nous  sommes  de  grands 
ignorans  de  laisser  poiurir  en  terre  vne  si  excellente  chair  qu'est 
celle  de  I'homme. 

There  is  a  curious  account  (p.  195)  of  a  conflict  between 
the  authority  of  a  local  deity  and  that  of  a  missionary 
from  Europe.  A  petty  King  is  cured  of  disease  by  a 
Christian  missionary  who  mocks  the  local  deity.  Being 
cured,  the  King  is  loath  to  give  up  his  old  god  qui  leur 
auoit  parle  si  souuerd  &  fait  tant  de  miracles  entr'eux. 
His  wife  assures  him,  however,  that  if  their  god  were 
strong  enough  to  do  any  harm,  he  would  strike  this 
impudent  Christian  with  Ughtning.  It  is  not  a  far  cry 
from  this  to  the  open  questioning  of  revealed  religions 
and  miracles. 


32  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

In  the  Seconde  Partie,  treating  of  Madagascar  (p.  11), 
occurs  a  direct  comparison  between  this  happy  country 
and  Europe: 

Les  habitans  de  cette  isle  ne  songent  qu'k  viure  ioyeusement, 
&  ce  qui  est  plus  k  admirer  parmy  vn  si  grand  nombre  de  peuples 
Ton  ne  void  aucuns  vagabonds  &  mendians  comme  en  Europe. 
Ik  se  donnent  tous  du  bon  temps  sans  neantmoins  faire  tort  k 
personnel  les  vns  se  contentent  de  peu,  les  autres  veulent 
beaucoup,  &  aucun  ne  manque  d'occupation  s'il  veut  trauailler. 
...  lis  viuent  en  grande  amiti^. 

Another  insertion,  evidently  from  the  hand  of  Bergeron, 
is  found  in  the  Seconde  Partie,  p.  34: 

Ce  qui  est  le  plus  remarquable  en  ces  lieux-la,  est  qu'il  n'y  a 
aucune  prison,  k  cause  que  toutes  les  affaires  de  lustice  se  iugent 
sur  le  champ. 

Later,  speaking  of  sun-worshipers  in  Africa  (p.  81), 
Le  Blanc  says: 

lis  reconnoissent  vn  lieu  od  les  mauuais  sont  tourmentez  apres 
cette  vie,  les  vns  plus  griefuement  que  les  autres,  k  proportion 
de  leurs  pechez. 

Of  the  court  of  Prince  Negus  {Seconde  Partie)  one  reads: 

cette  cour  n'est  point  suiuie  de  tant  de  racaille  de  gens  comme 
les  nostres  (p.  90). 

Of  the  same  people,  it  is  stated: 

estant  chose  inouye  entr'eux  qu'aucun  ait  iamais  conspir6 
contre  son  Prince  . . .  chose  bien  esloign^e  de  la  peruersit^  & 
corruption  des  pais  de  dega,  &  particulierement  de  nostre  mal- 
heureuse  France,  qui  par  vn  ie  ne  syay  quel  zele  furieux,  enrag^ 
&  du  tout  diabolique,  a  tremp4  trop  souuent  sa  main  parricide 
dans  le  sang  de  ses  Rois.  Dieu  luy  fasse  la  grace  d'imiter  ces 
bons  Abissins,  meilleurs  Chrestiens  en  cela  qu'elle  (p.  94). 

Although  far  from  being  the  only  philosophic  expres- 
sions in  the  book,  these  quotations  will  suffice  to  show 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  33 

that  this  curious  narrative  of  adventure  contains  argu- 
ments for  reHgious  freedom,  for  the  right  to  employment 
and  for  the  right  to  prompt  justice,  as  well  as  an  open 
comparison  of  Uttle  known  lands  with  Europe.  The 
picture  of  men  of  many  races  and  creeds  Uving  amicably 
in  the  free  ports  of  the  East  Indies,  is  no  less  striking  in 
its  internationalism. 

Thus  the  Voyages  fameux  du  sieur  Vincent  Le  Blanc, 
the  result  of  the  collaboration  of  two  men,  one  a  trader 
and  adventurer,  the  other  a  lawyer  and  theorist,  is  a 
realistic  story  containing  theories  both  political  and 
economic.  It  reveals  a  distinct  idealizing  tendency, 
which  gives  it  a  Utopian  flavor.  In  the  complete  Ex~ 
traordinary  Voyages  of  later  date,  the  process  of  com- 
position is,  to  be  sure,  different.  But  regardless  of  the 
processes  of  composition,  and  regardless  of  whether  the 
later  writers  of  Extraordinary  Voyages  knew  this  strange 
book  (which  went  through  three  editions  in  ten  years),  the 
Voyages  of  Le  Blanc  must  be  considered  a  hterary  ancestor 
of  the  Terre  australe  connue  of  Foigny,  of  the  Histoire 
des  Sevarambes  of  Vairasse,  and  in  a  general  sense,  even 
of  the  Tilemaque.^ 

'  In  the  Premiere  Partie  of  the  Voyages  fameux  of  Le  Blanc, 
pp.  119-120,  there  are  two  interesting  stories.  One  is  that  of  a 
woman  mating  with  a  bear  named  Sagistan.  The  other  is  a  desert 
island  story.  A  woman,  accused  of  adultery,  is  left  on  a  desert 
island  with  her  lover,  by  order  of  her  husband.  The  lover  dies. 
The  woman  is  cared  for  by  a  monkey,  becomes  his  mistress  and  has 
children  by  him.  When  she  escapes  on  a  passing  vessel,  the  animal 
murders  their  offspring  before  her  eyes.  She  returns  to  Europe, 
and  Uves  a  secluded  life  in  a  convent,  after  being  acquitted  by  a 
religious  court.  The  story  is  carefully  substantiated.  The  same 
general  type  of  story  occurs  in  the  Voyages  of  Mocquet  (1617)  pre- 
viously referred  to.  According  to  Mocquet,  an  English  pilot  cast 
away  in  America,  on  the  mainland,  has  a  child  by  a  savage  woman, 
who  murders  this  child  before  his  eyes  when  he  leaves  on  a  passing 
vessel.    (Mocquet,  Voyages,  Livre  ii,  pp.  148^-150).    It  is  not  at  ail 


34  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

2.  Ulle  imaginaire,  1658 

In  the  (Euvres  de  M.  de  Segrais  ^°  occurs  a  nouvelle  or 
a  short  satire,  which,  although  not  an  Extraordinary 
Voyage,  bears  some  resemblance  to  this  type  of  novel. 
The  story  begins  with  adventures  and  shipwreck  at 
sea;  there  is  a  description  of  the  flora  and  fauna  of  the 
island,  including  bright  blue  and  carmine  colored  rabbits." 
This  much  of  the  lie  imaginaire  is  similar  to  the  Extraor- 
dinary Voyages  in  being  a  rejflection  of  the  published 
accounts  of  real  voyages  and  adventures,  together  with 
an  extraordinary  element  of  strangely  colored  animals. 
There  follows  the  description  of  a  repubUc  of  dogs  on 
this  island,  which  is  a  flippant  satire  on  works  of  the 
type  of  the  Utopia,  the  Nova  Atlantis,  and  the  Civitas 
Soils. 

The  great  distinction  between  the  lie  imaginaire  and 
the  Extraordinary  Voyages  which  follow,  however,  Ues 
in  the  transparent  insincerity  of  the  former.  The  title 
itself,  containing  the  word  "imaginaire,"  counteracts 
whatever  attempts  at  realism  are  found  later.  The 
reader  takes  up  the  story  prepared  to  read  a  fiction.  If 
he  should  happen  to  read  the  dedication  d  Madame  de 
Pontac,  he  would  come  to  the  second  confession  of  in- 
sincerity on  the  part  of  the  author: 

Je  suis  asstlr^  qu'il  n'y  a  Confesseur,  m^me  des  plus  s^veres  du 
terns,  qui  ne  donne  absolution  d'un  mensonge  pareil  k  celui  que 
je  vous  d6die. 

unlikely  that  Bergeron  knew  the  Voyages  of  Mocquet,  and  changed 
this  story  to  suit  himself.  In  the  Voyages  fameux  of  Le  Blanc,  this 
incident  is  given  as  a  desert  island  story,  which  is  not  the  case  with 
Mocquet. 

1"  Amsterdam,  1723  t.  ii,  p.  178;  or  Paris,  1755,  t.  ii,  p.  165 
(about  40  pp.  in-12). 

"  A  similar  case  of  colored  animals  occurs  in  Foigny's  Terre 
auslrale  conntie,  1676.    See  next  chapter. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  35 

Notwithstanding  all  the  marvels  of  witchcraft,  the 
apparent  sincerity  of  the  Voyages  fameux  of  Le  Blanc  is 
strangely  similar  to  the  convincing  reaUsm  of  later  philo- 
sophic voyages.  On  the  contrary,  the  flippant  and  courtly 
fiction  of  Segrais  is  more  nearly  akin  to  the  works  of  Gom- 
berville  or  of  Scud^ry  than  to  those  of  Foigny,  Vairasse, 
and  others  who  follow. 


CHAPTER  IV 
LA  TERRE  AU ST  RALE  CON  HUE  OF   GABRIEL   FOIGNY 

1.  Life  and  Publications  of  Foigny. 

2.  The  Adventures  of  Sadeur. 

3.  The  Austral  Land. 

4.  Conclusion. 

1.  Life  and  Publications  of  Foigny 

In  1676  there  appeared  the  first  novel  which  falls  within 
the  definition  given  of  "Extraordinary  Voyage."  This 
is  the  Terre  australe  connue  of  Gabriel  Foigny,  as  strange 
a  story  in  many  ways  as  any  novel  of  the  type.^ 

A  second  edition  appeared  in  Paris  in  1692,  under  the 
title  Les  avantures  de  Jacques  Sadeur,^  an  English  transla- 
tion at  London  the  following  year,'  two  other  editions  at 
Paris  (1693-1705),  and  an  edition  at  Amsterdam  in  1732. 

The  author,  Gabriel  Foigny,*  was  a  native  of  Lorraine. 
Born  in  1640,  he  died  in  1692  after  a  turbulent  and  far 

'  La  Terre  aiistrale  connue,  c'est-a-dire  la  description  de  ce  pays 
inconnu  jusqu'id,  de  ses  moeurs  &  de  ses  coMumes,  par  Mr.  Sadeur. 
Avec  les  avantures  qui  le  conduisirent  en  ce  Continent,  &  les  par- 
ticularitez  du  sejour  qu'il  y  fit  durant  trente-cinq  ans  &  plvx,  & 
de  son  retour.  Reduites  &  mises  en  lumiere  par  les  soins  &  la  con- 
duiie  de  G.  de  F.  d  Vannes,  par  laques  Vemevil,  rue  S.  Giiles,  1676. 

*  Chez  Barbin,  Paris,  1692.  Although  Sadeur  is  christened 
"Nicolas"  in  the  first  edition,  the  name  occurs  but  once.  His 
father's  name  is  "Jacques,"  according  to  Sadeur's  account  of  him. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  later  editions  use  the  title  Les  avantures  de 
Jacques  Sadeur. 

*  A  new  discovery  of  terra  incognita  Au^tralis  by  Mr.  Sadeur, 
London,  1693.     For  titles  of  later  editions  see  Bibliography. 

*  The  particle  "de"  seems  to  have  been  assumed  by  Foigny  the 
author.     The  man  seems  to  have  been  known  as  Gabriel  Foigny. 

36 


THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE  37 

from  exemplary  life.  As  a  young  man,  he  entered  the 
order  of  Franciscan  monks.  Having  left  the  monastery 
for  reasons  now  unknown,  he  went  to  the  neighborhood 
of  Geneva  and  became  a  Protestant.  He  was  for  a  time 
"chantre"  or  one  of  the  regular  singers  in  a  church  at 
Morges.  Having  upon  at  least  one  occasion  appeared 
in  church  in  a  condition  far  from  sober,  he  was  turned  out 
of  his  position,  and  went  to  seek  his  fortune  in  Geneva. 
Here,  he  made  a  living  by  tutoring  small  boys  in  grammar, 
geography,  and  other  subjects.  He  also  taught  the  French 
language  to  several  persons  of  German  speech.  After 
some  time,  he  married  a  woman  of  the  lowest  class,  wha 
is  reported  to  have  been  "not  so  scrupulous  as  Lucretia'* 
in  morals.  Several  publications  of  Foigny  appeared 
about  this  time.  One  was  an  almanac,  which  wa» 
remarkably  inaccurate  even  for  this  sort  of  book.  Foigny 
also  pubUshed  a  set  of  cards  illustrating  heraldry,  and  the 
Marot  and  Beza  Psalms,  with  a  prayer  of  his  own  inven- 
tion at  the  end  of  each  psalm.  These  prayers  are  char- 
acterized as  "insipid  compliments  to  the  Deity"  by  a 
man  who  read  them,  and  from  whom  all  the  facts  of 
Foigny 's  Ufe  are  received.^  The  Uscige  du  Jeu  royal  de 
la  langue  latine  of  Foigny,  a  purely  grammatical  work, 
was  printed  at  Lyon  in  1674  and  1676.  Toward  the  end 
of  1676,  the  Terre  australe  connue  was  printed.  Bayle's 
correspondent  states  that  it  was  printed  at  Geneva,  and 
that  the  printer  admitted  having  received  the  work  from 
Foigny.  According  to  the  same  authority,  Foigny 
stoutly  maintained  that  he  had  received  the  manuscript 

'  Bayle,  Dictionnaire  critique,  ed.  1715,  Article  Sadeur.  There  is 
a  note  here  not  included  in  Article  Sadeur  of  the  1697  ed.  It  is  in 
the  form  of  a  letter  to  Bayle  from  a  person  (not  named)  in  Geneva. 
In  Chaudon  et  Delandine,  Dictionnaire  universel,  9®  6d.,  Paris, 
1810,  Article  Foigni,  there  is  nothing  not  found  in  Bayle's  Dictionnaire 
excepting  the  sentence:  Son  voyage  romanesqv^  Jut  trks-rechercMy 
tarU  qu'il  Jut  dijendu. 


"38  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

from  Bordeaux,  but  finally  confessed  that  he  had  written 
it  himself  to  obtain  money.  The  title  page  (see  Note  1) 
reads  "k  Vannes."  That  the  book  may  have  been 
printed  simultaneously  at  Vannes  and  at  Geneva  is 
barely  possible.  It  is  much  more  probable  that  it  was 
printed  at  Geneva  but  as  if  at  Vannes,  in  order  to  de- 
ceive the  religious  faction  at  Geneva  who  persecuted 
Foigny  for  its  publication.  In  any  event,  the  book  was 
published  in  1676,  probably  at  Geneva,  and  Foigny  was 
allowed  to  remain  in  that  city  after  its  appearance  through 
the  influence  of  several  German  gentlemen  whom  he  had 
instructed  in  French. 

In  a  German  thesis  for  the  doctorate  ®  mention  is  made 
of  a  copy  of  the  Terre  australe  connue  printed  at  Geneva 
in  1676.  According  to  this  dissertation,  Der  Titel  der 
Genfer  Ausgabe  lautet: 

Les  avantures  de  Jaqnes  Sardeur  dans  la  decouverte  et  le  voyage 
de  la  Terre  australe.    Genf.  1676. 

No  other  mention  of  this  Geneva  edition,  with  this 
title,  is  known  to  the  present  author.  If  Herr  Giinther's 
statement  is  correct,  then  the  Geneva  correspondent  of 
Bayle  is  proved  right,  and  the  Terre  australe  connue  was 
printed  in  Geneva.  That  it  should  have  been  printed 
twice  in  the  same  year  and  with  two  different  title  pages 
is  of  course  possible.  The  entire  story  of  Bayle's  corres- 
pondent is  plausible  and  convincing  in  circumstantial 
details,  and  can  be  taken  as  reliable  evidence  without  the 
support  of  Herr  Giinther.  (Another  correspondent  of 
Bayle,  likewise  given  space  in  a  note  to  the  1715  edition 
of  the  Didionnaire,  who  beheves  the  Terre  australe  to 
have  been  written  by  a  gentleman  from  Brittany,  must 
be  disregarded,  from  a  lack  of  those  circumstantial  details 

*  Entstehungsgeschichte  von  Defoe's  Robinson  Crusoe,  Max  Giinther, 
Greifswald,  1909,  p.  38. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  39 

which  indicate  the  first-hand  information  of  the  Geneva 
correspondent.) 

Unfortunately  for  the  rehabiUty  of  Herr  Giinther's 
statements  in  the  dissertation  mentioned,  a  careful 
study  of  his  disquisition  reveals  many  serious  mis- 
statements. "Sadeur"  is  consistently  misspelled  "Sar- 
deur"  even  in  quoting  title  pages.  In  his  treatment  of 
the  Histoire  des  Sevaramhes  (1677-1679),  the  Extraordinary 
Voyage  of  Denis  Vairasse,  Herr  Giinther  shows  absolute 
ignorance  of  the  authorship  of  the  novel,  and  cites  no 
edition  in  French  earlier  than  1702,  whereas  the  novel 
was  first  pubHshed  in  its  complete  form,  in  French,  in 
1677-1679.  It  is  curious  also  in  a  way,  that  F.  Wackwitz, 
whose  dissertation,  bearing  the  same  title  and  date  as 
Giinther's,  but  published  at  Berlin,  although  much  more 
complete  in  bibliography,  fails  to  mention  the  Geneva 
edition  of  the  Terre  australe  connue  referred  to  by  Giinther. 

Foigny  was  saved  from  the  persecution  of  the  clergy, 
and  permitted  to  remain  in  Geneva.  His  troubles  wer& 
not  to  end  so  soon,  however,  for  he  fled  from  Geneva. 
some  time  later,  leaving  his  maidservant  in  disgrace- 
He  died  in  a  convent  in  Savoy  in  1692. 

Foigny's  was  a  tempestuous  hfe,  marked  by  both  open: 
and  secret  revolt  against  society  and  institutions.  It 
would  be  vain  to  condone  his  faults.  M.  Chinard,  in; 
L'Amerique  et  le  reve  exotiquej  points  out  that  a  man  of 
Foigny's  temperament  might  have  fared  better  in  the 
newly  discovered  lands  beyond  the  seas,  and  that  in  the 
physical  activity  of  covering  long  and  strange  distances,  he 
might  have  found  a  fitting  antidote  to  his  turbulent  na- 
ture. The  facts  of  Foigny's  Ufe  show  that  the  only  recourse 
for  him  was  to  change  from  one  institution  to  another 
in  the  vain  search  for  freedom  of  spirit  and  Hcense  in 
morals.  In  the  Terre  australe  connue,  Foigny  goes  further 
7  Page  201. 


40  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

than  any  of  his  predecessors  in  Utopias,  and  even  further 
than  many  later  authors  of  this  type  of  novel,  in  de- 
scribing a  society  in  which  institutions  and  centralized 
power  are  absolutely  lacking.  In  Foigny's  ideal  com- 
monwealth there  is  no  benign  tyrant.  There  is  no  ruler, 
no  ruling  class.  There  are  no  slaves,  no  class  distinctions, 
no  famiUes  raised  above  other  families.  The  means 
which  the  hero  Sadeur  employs  to  discover  this  country 
of  equality,  and  the  description  of  the  democracy  of 
Foigny's  imagination,  furnish  the  material  of  the  book. 

2.  The  Adventures  of  Sadeur 

In  the  Au  lecteur  of  this  novel,*  there  is  a  long  discus- 
sion of  man's  passion  to  discover  the  new  and  to  penetrate 
into  the  most  difficult  truths. 

II  veut  m^me  monter  dans  les  Cieux :  &  non  content  de  raison- 
ner  &  discourir  des  qualitez  des  6toiles,  il  s'eforce  d'approfondir 
dans  les  secrets  de  la  Divinity ...  on  ne  cesse  depuis  quatre 
ou  cinq  cans  ans  de  proposer  une  terre  Australe  inconnue:  sans 
qu'aucun  jusqu'ici  ait  fait  parottre  son  courage  &  ses  soins, 
pour  le  rendre  connue. 

There  follows  a  discussion  of  Magellan's  discovery  of 
the  Tierra  del  Fuego,  found  later  to  be  a  part  of  America, 
and  of  Gonneville's  return  to  France  with  a  young  native 
"qu'il  qualifioit  fils  d'un  Roy  de  ces  Quartiers."  ®  The 
discoveries  of  Marco  Polo  are  slightingly  considered  by 
Foigny  in  the  Ught  of  recent  trading  in  Java  by  the 
Dutch,  and  consequent  certain  knowledge.  One  para- 
graph of  the  Au  lecteur  suffices  to  indicate  the  sources 
of  Foigny's  Terre  av^trale  connue. 

*  All  references  are  to  the  Terre  australe  conntie,  edition  of  1676. 
Some  later  editions  are  incomplete;  the  Au  lecteur  is  lacking  entirely 
in  the  1732  edition,  for  instance. 

>  Reference  has  already  been  made  to  this  young  "Australian 
prince"  in  Chapter  II. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  41 

II  ^  vrai  que  comparant  la  relation  de  Fernandez  de  Quir 
Portugais,  avec  la  description  qui  doit  suivre,  on  est  oblige 
d'avoiier  que,  si  quelqu'un  en  est  approch^,  cet  honneur  lui  est 
deu . . . 

Mention  is  then  made  of  de  Quir's  eighth  petition  to 
the  King  of  Spain  regarding  the  discovery  of  Australia 
in  the  year  1606.  The  description  of  that  country  made 
by  de  Quir  and  by  Paes  de  Torres,  who  was  the  admiral 
of  de  Quir's  fleet,  is  also  referred  to.  It  is  pointed  out 
that  these  two  explorers  agree  as  to  the  air  being 
si  sain  .  .  .  qu'on  y  couche  d  platte  terre  sans  aucune  in- 
commodite  and  further  that  les  fruits  y  sont  si  nourrissans 
&  si  excellens,  qu'ils  suffisent  seuls  a  la  nourriture.  Further 
there  are  good  hquors  in  the  Austral  land,  no  clothes 
are  worn,  and  les  sciences  naturelles  y  sont  en  grands 
estime.  To  sum  up,  Voild  le  ra,courci  des  rapports  de  ces 
deux  personnages  .  .  .  ils  ne  particularisent  rien}^ 

Follows  an  ingenious  consideration  of  the  discoveries 
of  de  Quir  and  Sadeur.  The  Austral  Land  should 
by  right  be  claimed  by  the  Eong  of  France,  as  Sadeur 
was  of  French  parentage.  Louys  le  Redouts  &  U 
triomphant  is  mentioned.  All  of  this  has  a  distinctly 
realistic  flavor.  It  is  in  the  same  style  as  the  pleading 
of  real  travelers,  de  Quir  in  his  petition,  and  many  others 
in  recounting  their  discoveries.  Discoverers  almost  always 
plead  in  their  reports  that  the  new  land  be  claimed  by 
their  monarch  in  Europe. 

As  to  the  pubUcation  of  Sadeur's  life  and  discoveries, 
we  are  informed  that  the  writer  of  the  Au  lecteur  happened 
to  be  d  Livorgne  Van  1661.    Here  he  witnessed  the  dis- 

1"  It  will  be  seen,  after  a  digest  of  the  description  of  Australia, 
that  de  Qviir's  petition  is  very  detailed,  and  that  the  account  of 
Sadeur  agrees  time  after  time  with  the  very  details  here  denied. 
A  wide  knowledge  of  de  Quir's  petition  made  this  agreement  wise 
if  not  necessary. 


42  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

embarkation  of  a  vessel  just  arrived  from  Madagascar. 
Sadeur,  one  of  the  passengers  on  this  vessel,  fell  into  the 
water,  and  was  rescued  in  a  weakened  condition  by  the 
writer.  By  the  best  of  good  fortune,  it  was  possible  to 
salvage  at  the  same  time  Sadeur's  personal  effects,  in- 
cluding his  memoirs.  These  constituted  une  espece  de 
livre  fait  de  feuilles,  long  de  demi  -pied,  large  de  six  doits,  & 
ipais  de  deux.  After  being  rescued,  the  traveler  is 
luckily  able  to  converse  in  Latin  with  the  writer  of  the 
Au  lecteur  for  a  matter"  of  two  hours  before  dying  as  the 
result  of  his  immersion.  Thus  are  the  facts  and  memoirs 
of  Sadeur's  life  providentially  preserved.  The  advantage 
of  having  an  authentic  account,  rather  than  an  admittedly 
fictitious  accoimt  of  a  remarkable  voyage  is  evident. 
The  public  was  eager  to  learn  of  new  lands  at  this  time; 
books  of  travel  were  widely  read.  Foigny,  by  his  own 
admission,  wrote  the  story  to  make  money. 

The  convenience  of  having  the  hero  Sadeur  die  im- 
mediately on  his  arrival  in  Europe  is  equally  evident. 
Foigny  was  desirous  of  passing  off  his  creation,  Sadeur,  as 
a  real  man;  and  for  his  purposes  a  real  man  defunct  was 
almost  necessary.  In  the  Extraordinary  Voyages  which 
follow,  the  dead  are  always  the  most  brilUant  witnesses 
produced. 

Now  comes  Sadeur's  own  story  of  his  life.  He  begins 
by  saying  that  he  writes  the  history  of  his  life  for  his  own 
amusement,  inasmuch  as  he  has  little  hope  of  returning 
to  Europe.  The  events  of  his  birth  and  early  childhood 
are  known  to  him  only  through  a  memorandum  given 
him  by  a  Jesuit  in  Lisbon.  His  birth  occurred  at  sea, 
his  father  and  mother  being  on  the  return  voyage  to 
France  after  having  remained  some  time  in  the  West 
Indies  without  profit  to  themselves.     Sadeur  says. 

Fay  done  6t6  conceu  dans  I'Am^rique,  &  je  suis  n6  sur  I'Ocean, 
presage  trop  assur6  de  ce  que  je  devois  §tre  vn  jour  (p.  3). 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  43 

The  ship  is  wrecked  near  Cape  Finistere  on  the  coast  of 
Spain.  His  father  and  mother  are  victims  of  this  catas- 
trophe, but  do  not  die  until  they  have  reached  shore 
and  lamented  their  ill  fortune  in  almost  epic  fashion. 
The  infant  who  has  been  saved  by  the  sacrifice  of  his 
parents  is  commiserated  by  the  other  survivors  in  the 
following  terms: 

Pauvre  rejetton,  que  peux-tu  devenir?  peux-tu  avoir  quelque 
bonheur  en  ce  monde,  ^tant  la  cause  si  funeste  de  la  mort  de 
ceux  qui  font  donn6  la  vie?  (p.  6). 

Sadeur  is  adopted  by  some  natives;  but  the  captain 
of  the  ship  on  which  he  was  born,  having  acted  as  his 
god-father,  returns  to  obtain  possession  of  the  child. 
The  Spanish  foster-parents  take  the  matter  to  court. 
An  unfavorable  decision  causes  the  doughty  French 
captain  to  steal  the  child.  A  stray  shot  from  a  passing 
Portuguese  vessel  sinks  the  boat  on  which  Sadeur  and 
his  god-father  are  fleeing.  Only  a  servant  and  the  child 
escape  drowning.  This  servant,  a  model  of  devotion, 
goes  from  house  to  house  trying  to  find  a  home  for  Sadeur 
and  finally  arrives  with  the  child  at  Lisbon.  Here  he 
dies,  leaving  the  story  and  the  child  with  a  Jesuit,  from 
whom  Sadeur  receives  years  later  a  written  account  of 
his  birth  and  early  adventures. 

Having  thus  been  the  cause  of  death  of  each  of  a  series 
of  people  taking  an  interest  in  him,  Sadeur  after  three 
uneventful  years  is  adopted  by  the  Countess  of  Villa- 
franca.  He  being  hermaphroditic,  the  Jesuit  Fathers 
have  decided  after  careful  observation  that  he  shall  be 
brought  up  as  a  man.  He  receives  a  good  education, 
for  he  says, 

J'appris  .  .  .  les  langues  Latine,  Grecque,  Fran^oise,  Italienne, 
&  les  principes  de  I'Afriquaine,  la  Geometrie,  la  Geographie, 
la  Philosophie  &  I'Histoire  d'Espagne  avec  la  Chronologie  (p.  13). 


44  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

After  some  quiet  years,  Sadeur  starts  from  Lisbon  to 
Coimbra,  where  he  is  to  speak  at  the  University.  He 
yields  enough  to  strong  premonitions  of  danger  to  travel 
by  land  rather  than  by  sea.  It  avails  not  at  all,  for 
pirates  come  ashore  from  their  ship,  drive  off  his  escort 
and  take  him  to  sea  with  them. 

The  pirate  ship  sinks  after  a  storm.  Sadeur  floats  on 
the  door  of  the  Captain's  cabin  for  some  time,  and  is 
then  seen  by  moonlight  and  rescued  by  a  Portuguese 
vessel  bound  for  the  East  Indies.  He  is  well  treated  on 
board.  This  vessel  puts  in  at  Maninga  in  the  Congo 
and  Sadeur  goes  ashore  on  a  voyage  of  discovery. 

We  are  informed  at  once  that  the  Geographers  who 
place  Lake  Zair  d  trois  cens  lieues  de  la  mer  are  in  great 
error.  Sadeur  declares  that  he  went  from  the  sea  to  the 
lake  by  boat,  so  many  leagues  per  day  for  so  many  days, 
and  that  the  distance  is  not  nearly  so  great.  He  also 
says  that  there  are  no  savage  and  ferocious  animals  in 
the  Congo,  and  proves  it  by  the  simple  statement  that  he 
never  found  any.  This  he  admits  is  at  variance  with  the 
commonly  accepted  accounts  of  the  region.  Having  now 
proved  his  superiority  over  the  former  travelers  in  the 
region,  Sadeur  introduces  some  wonders  of  this  land 
which  have  not  been  reported  previously.  Among  the 
many  sorts  of  fish  in  the  Zair,  Sadeur  found  two  sur- 
prising varieties  (p.  28). 

Of  one  variety  he  says: 

ils  approchent  en  quelque  chose  de  nos  gros  chiens  barbets,  & 
que  sortant  assez  facilement  de  I'eau,  ils  sautent  presque  comme 
des  renards;  avec  cette  difference  que  leurs  pattes  sont  larges 
comme  les  pieds  de  nos  canards. 

These  fish  are  so  attracted  by  men  that  II  arrive  mime 
guelquefois  gu'ils  sautent  dans  les  bateaux.  The  others 
are  flying  fish  which  paroissoient  comme  de  grandes  Aigles 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  45 

avec  deux  ailes,  chacune  de  cinq  ou  six  pieds  (p.  29). 
There  are  sheep  (p.  30)  d'vn  rouge,  d'vn  verd,  d'vn  jaune,  & 
d'vn  bleu  si  eclatant  que  ndtre  pourpre  &  ndtre  soie  la 
mieux  preparee  n'en  approche  pas." 

The  Kafl&rs  are  referred  to  (p.  36)  as  ces  sauvages  qu'on 
ne  peut  humaniser.  The  explanation  of  their  ferocity  is 
curious.  It  seems  that  a  native  of  the  country  had 
progeny  by  a  tigress,  and  that  the  Kaffirs  are  the  de- 
scendants of  this  strange  cross.  The  proof  of  this  is  that 
Kaffirs  are  commonly  found  to  have  stripes  on  their  legs. 
The  fact  that  no  other  traveler  has  mentioned  the  striped 
legs  of  the  Kaffirs  seems  to  affect  Sadeur  as  httle  as  his 
own  previous  statement  that  there  are  no  ferocious 
beasts  in  this  vicinity. 

After  speaking  of  the  brightly  tinted  sheep  and  flower- 
carpeted  fields  of  the  Congo,  and  just  before  testing  our 
powers  of  belief  with  the  description  of  a  spring  whose 
water  r^jouit  &  fortifie  plu^  que  nostre  vin  d'Espagne, 
there  is  a  curious  protest: 

Je  m'informay  avec  beaucoup  de  soin  oil  6toient  les  Croco- 
drilles,  que  les  Historiens  mettent  en  grande  quantity  en  ces 
quartiers.  Mais  on  ne  connut  pas  meme  ce  que  je  voulois  dire: 
ce  qui  me  fit  croire  que  ce  n'^toit  que  des  contes  faits  k  plaisir. 
. . .  S'il  est  vray  de  dire  qu'il  est  permis  k  ceux  qui  ont  fait  de 
longs  voyages  d'en  faire  accroire  aux  autres  qui  ne  connoissent 
que  le  lieu  de  leur  naissance;  il  est  encore  plus  vray  d'assurer 
qu'ils  se  prevalent  tant  de  cette  ficence  qu'ils  n'affectent  presque 
que  des  fictions.  La  raison  est  qu'il  arrive  souvent  qu'on  fait 
de  tres  grands  chemins  sans  voir  autre  chose  que  quelques  ports, 
oil  on  ne  se  repose  qu'un  moment; . . .  Cependant  comme  on 
est  persuade  qu'il  faut  dire  quelque  nouveaut^  quand  on 
vient  de  loin:  plus  les  esprits  sont  subtils,  plus  ils  en  inventent 
(p.  31). 

"  A  similar  account  in  Vile  imaginaire  of  Segrais  will  be  recalled. 
(See  Chapter  III.) 


46  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

The  spring  which  yields  a  fluid  akin  to  wine  he  explains 
by  the  following  unanswerable  logic,  given  as  the  con- 
clusion of  his  companions  on  finding  the  spring: 

si  I'on  trouvoit  des  sources  de  tres  mauvais  golit,  c'etoit  vne 
suite  necessaire  qu'on  en  peAt  trouver  de  tres  douces  &  de  tres 
agr^ables  (p.  33). 

After  returning  to  the  ship  and  setting  sail,  there  are 
no  further  incidents  of  note  until  Sadeur  is  within  sight 
of  Madagascar.  Here  another  storm  and  another  ship- 
wreck enliven  the  narrative.  The  geography  is  also 
somewhat  entertaining  to  a  modern  reader.  Being 
within  sight  of  Madagascar  when  the  storm  breaks,  an 
East  wind  blows  them 

plus  de  mille  lieues  du  c6t6  de  rOiiest.  Plusieurs  virent  quelques 
Isles  k  la  droite  vers  le  Nord,  &  les  prirent  pour  celles  qu'on 
nomme  de  la  Trinite  (p.  37). 

One  hopes  that  Foigny,  when  he  was  teaching  geography 
to  the  small  boys  at  Geneva,  confined  himself  strictly 
to  European  countries. 

A  rock  at  the  surface  of  the  water  breaks  the  vessel  in 
two  pieces.  Thanks  to  previous  experience  (this  being 
his  fourth  shipwreck),  Sadeur  cares  for  himself  success- 
fully. He  finds  a  small  island  near  at  hand,  when  he  at 
last  regains  consciousness.  By  instinct  he  had  clutched 
a  piece  of  wreckage  immediately  after  the  ship  struck. 
Once  on  the  convenient  island,  he  finds  two  fruits  lying 
beneath  a  tree,  eats  them,  and  goes  to  sleep.  On  awaken- 
ing, he  starts  to  climb  a  tree,  after  the  manner  of  all 
explorers.  He  is  driven  down,  however  by  two  enormous 
birds.  He  starts  to  the  beach  to  trust  his  life  once  more 
to  the  plank  by  which  he  escaped  drowning  the  day  be- 
fore, but  is  attacked  by  an  almost  complete  menagerie 
of  strange  animals.    These  include: 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  47 

certaines  especes  de  chevaux,  mais  avec  des  tetes  pointues,  & 
des  pattes  qui  finissoient  en  griffes  . , .  elles  estoient  emplumdes 
&  . . .  avoient  des  aisles  (p.  43). 

Fleeing  to  the  water,  Sadeur  escapes  upon  his  plank. 
Holding  one  end  of  it,  he  progresses  at  a  fair  rate  of  speed, 
thanks  to  the  animals  taking  the  other  end  in  their  teeth 
and  pushing  ahead,  swimming  rapidly  in  a  vain  attempt 
to  overtake  their  quarry.  In  this  way  Sadeur  reaches 
and  mounts  upon  a  huge  object  floating  at  the  surface  of 
the  water.  This  island  moves  ahead  rapidly,  but  soon 
sinks  from  view,  being  in  reality  a  large  whale.  Sadeur, 
once  more  on  the  sea  with  only  a  plank  to  support  him, 
is  again  attacked  by  the  winged  monsters,  which  with- 
draw soon  after  without  harming  him  greatly.  Then, 
out  on  the  ocean  with  nothing  to  support  him  but  his 
plank,  he  finds  himself 

pouss^  d'un  vent  de  Nordoiiest  avec  beaucoup  de  vitesse, 
bien  que  sans  agitation  de  la  Mer  (p.  48). 

No  other  explanation  of  this  rapid  progress  is  vouchsafed. 
He  comes  to  another  island,  finds  fruit  to  eat,  and  is 
again  attacked  by  strange  animals.  These  are  bears, 
of  whom  the  following  zoological  fact  is  noted : 

chaque  patte  me  paroissoit  aussi  grosse  que  toute  la  b6te 
(p.  51). 

These  monstrosities  are  driven  off  by  the  giant  birds, 
one  of  which  clutches  Sadeur  in  its  talons  and  flies  high 
in  the  air  with  him.  After  a  considerable  journey,  this 
bird  puts  him  down  on  a  convenient  rock  and  another 
takes  him  up  and  continues  the  journey.  Sadeur,  tiring 
of  this  method  of  travel,  and  angered  by  the  pain  caused 
by  the  beast's  talons,  finds  assez  de  forces  .  .  .  pour  luy 
arracher  les  yeux  a  belles  dents  (p.  53).  After  a  terrific 
battle  with  this  bird  and  with  another  on  whose  back  he 


48  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

mounts,  Sadeur  is  seen  from  shore  and  rescued  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  Australian  Continent  (p.  55).^ 

Before  turning  to  the  totally  imaginary  society  of  the 
Australians,  which  follows  this  series  of  adventures,  it 
seems  advisable  to  consider  this  first  part  of  the  story, 
the  Adventures  of  Sadeur,  as  distinct  from  the  ideal 
commonwealth,  the  carefree  land  of  philosophy,  which 
follows. 

The  adventurous  nature  of  the  part  of  La  Terre  australe 
conrme  so  far  reviewed  is  too  evident  to  be  insisted  upon. 
It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  story  of  no  matter  what 
type  in  which  more  incidents  occur  in  the  same  number 
of  pages.  There  is  an  obvious  interest  on  the  part  of 
the  author  in  the  exotic,  the  new,  the  shocking  and  the 
outrageous,  Foigny  takes  a  keen  delight  in  adventure 
of  the  exaggerated  sort,  for  its  own  sake,  and  totally 
apart  from  any  philosophic  concern,  although  he  draws 
rationahstic  conclusions  from  time  to  time.  The  fact 
remains  that  most  of  the  incidents  between  his  birth  at 
sea  and  his  final  landing  in  the  Austral  land  are  devoid 
of  interest  of  a  philosophic  kind.  These  incidents  are 
recounted  in  the  same  exuberant  spirit,  and  in  almost 
as  poor  style  as  those  in  the  Voyages  fameux  du  Sieur 
Vincent  Le  Blanc  previously  referred  to. 

Murder,  sudden  death,  abduction,  shipwreck,  strange 
animals,  and  strangely  fertile  countries,  have  a  great 
attraction  for  this  monk,  protestant,t  eacher  of  languages, 
and  ne'er  do  well,  Foigny,  —  who,  as  far  as  is  known, 
never  traveled  two  hundred  miles  in  any  direction  from 
the  place  where  he  was  born.  H  s  sympathy  with  the 
adventurous  spirits  of  the  time  links  Foigny's  novel  to 
the  exotic  spirit  of  the  accounts  of  real  voyages,  in  much 
the  same  fashion  as  his  interest  in  the  great  problems 
of  the  human  race  links  his  novel  to  the  then  ex- 
"  The  similarity  to  the  Travels  of  Gulliver  is  evident. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  49 

istent   Utopia  of  Thomas  More  and  Nova  Atlantis  of 
Bacon. 

With  a  man  of  the  exuberant  imagination  of  Foigny, 
it  is  useless  to  expect  careful  copjdng  of  incidents  to  be 
evident.  That  he  had  read  stories  of  adventure,  or 
talked  with  travelers,  and  that  he  took  a  lively  pleasure 
in  such  things  is  not  to  be  doubted.  That  an  author 
who  evidently  invented  a  large  number  of  the  incidents 
between  the  last  shipwreck  and  the  landing  in  Australia 
was  greatly  indebted  to  any  one  source  for  the  remark- 
able incidents  of  the  youth  of  his  hero  is  to  be  doubted. 
Such  an  intrepid  fabricator  of  adventure  as  Foigny  can 
scarcely  ever  have  found  himself  at  a  loss  for  incidents  of 
his  own  imagining.  The  first  part  of  his  Terre  australe 
connue  is  much  more  vague  and  lacking  in  convincing 
circumstantial  detail  than  the  first  part  of  the  Histoire 
des  Sevaramhes  of  Vairasse,  for  instance,  which,  as  will 
appear  later,  was  taken  directly  from  a  single  detailed 
account  of  a  real  voyage. 

With  regard  to  the  Congo,  it  has  already  been  stated 
that  Foigny's  methods  are  largely  inductive.  He  denies 
distances  given  by  geographers,  and  proves  his  claim 
by  stating  that  he  made  the  distance  at  so  many  leagues 
per  day  in  so  many  days.  He  denies  the  existence  of 
ferocious  animals,  and  proves  it  by  stating  that  he  never 
found  any.  The  same  method  is  employed  with  regard 
to  crocodiles.  Aside  from  his  own  statements  of  first- 
hand experience,  the  only  authority  Foigny  uses  is  that 
he  learned  this  or  that  fact,  indefinitely,  "from  the 
natives." 

It  seems  easy  to  beheve  that  Foigny  knew  the  Long 
and  Short  Voyages  of  De  Bry  which  were  printed  and 
reprinted  at  Frankfort. 

The  idea  of  the  Ruk  or  great  flying  bird  is  one  generally 
characterized  as  of  the  Middle  Ages     That  it  survived 


60  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

into  the  17th  century  in  illustrations  can  be  seen  by- 
consulting  the  lifelike  engraving  ^'  in  which  Magellan 
is  represented  on  the  deck  of  his  ship  passing  through  the 
Austral  sea,  while  a  giant  bird  flies  off  at  one  side  with 
an  elephant  in  its  claws. 

It  would  be  futile  to  argue  that  all  the  people  of  the 
17th  century  in  France  beHeved  in  the  existence  of  these 
giant  birds.  Foigny's  description  of  Sadeur  battUng  with 
them  and  coming  forth  victorious  must  have  seemed 
fantastic  and  marvelous  to  most  of  his  readers,  as  it  did 
to  Bayle."  But  the  existence  of  such  birds  was  not  defi- 
nitely disproved  at  the  time  the  Terre  aiistrale  connue  was 
written.  Certainly  it  was  no  more  difficult  of  belief 
than  the  accounts  of  brightly  tinted  sheep,  and  may  be 
classified  with  them  as  an  "extraordinary"  element. 

In  the  Vera  Descriptio  Regni  Africani,^^  there  are  maps 
showing  the  rivers  Congo,  Zair,  and  Nile  flowing  out  of 
one  source.  Lake  Zair.  Sadeur  agrees  with  this  although 
he  alters  distances.  There  is  a  long  description  of  the 
Congo,  from  the  voyage  of  PhiUppo  Pigafetta  in  this  same 
volume.  Except  for  general  terms  of  eulogy  of  the  rich- 
ness of  the  region,  there  is  Uttle  similarity  with  Sadeur's 
account.  It  has  been  shown  that  Sadeur's  method  in 
describing  the  Congo  is  that  of  denying  previously  re- 
ported facts,  and  claiming  first-hand  information  to  be 
more  rehable. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  refer  to  De  Bry's  Voyages  again 

^*  Engraving  No.  XV,  Americae  insignis  &  admiranda  Historia, 
Para  1,  De  Bry,  Francfort,  MDXCIIII.     (1594.) 

^*  Bayle,  Dictionnaire,  ed.  1697.    Art.  Sadeur,  pp.  987-988. 

La  maniere  dont  il  dit  que  cela  fut  fait,  &  qu'il  vainquit  les 
bStes  farouches  qui  le  vouloient  dechirer,  &  qu'il  se  retira  enfin  de 
ce  pais-1^  .  .  .  est  quelque  chose  de  si  Strange  que  je  ne  pense 
pas  qu'il  y  ait  des  inventions  plus  grotesques  ni  dans  I'Arioste,  ni 
dans  Amadis. 

"  De  Bry,  India  Orientalis,  Para  I.    Francfort,  1598. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  51 

in  treating  the  second,  or  philosophic,  part  of  the  Terre 
australe  connue. 

3.  The  Austral  Land 

The  first  chapter  of  Sadeur's  residence  in  the  Austral 
Continent  begins  with  an  explanation  of  his  pecuUar 
fitness  to  report  that  country  for  the  first  time  to 
the  people  of  Europe.  Being  hermaphroditic,  he  is 
esteemed  as  fit  to  live  by  these  people,  all  of  whom  have 
both  sexes.  Furthermore,  it  is  necessary  that  he  arrive 
totally  nude  among  them,  as  they  consider  the  wearing 
of  clothes  disgraceful.  The  long  battle  with  the  monsters 
of  the  air  has  left  him  conveniently  naked.  Without 
previous  experience  in  shipwreck,  he  would  never  have 
survived  to  come  ashore  nude.  Lastly,  his  supreme 
courage  in  fighting  against  the  huge  birds  aroused  in 
the  natives  an  admiration  for  his  virtues,  and  an  appre- 
ciation of  his  fitness  to  Uve  among  them.  Under  any  other 
circumstances,  Sadeur  would  have  been  put  to  death  on 
arrival.    A  very  deterministic  sentence  is  the  following: 

En  vn  mot,  plus  on  considerera  toutes  les  circonstances  de  ce 
voyage  &  de  mes  perils,  plus  on  y  verra  ^clatter  la  conduite  de 
Dieu,  qui  fait  disposer  de  ses  creatures  pour  les  faire  arriver 
infailliblement  au  but  qu'elle  s'est  propos6. 

Thanks  to  his  display  of  courage,  to  his  nakedness, 
and  to  his  bisexual  constitution,  Sadeur  is  taken  to  the 
nearest  community.  Here  a  place  is  prepared  for  him. 
He  is  graciously  received,  and  given  blue  and  red  fruit  to 
eat.'^  His  wounds  are  entirely  cured  in  two  weeks  by  the 
wonderful  balms  of  these  people.  The  language  of  the 
country  he  masters  in  five  months  and  with  no  great  effort. 

"  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  Nova  Atlantis  of  Bacon,  the 
visitors  are  presented  with  red  fruit  immediately  on  arrival.  In 
both  cases  it  is  a  reflection  of  the  savages,  in  accounts  of  real  voyages, 


52  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

Sadeur  gives  the  description  of  the  country,  which  is 
divided  into  areas  named  Must,  Hube,  Hump,  Hued, 
Huod,  Curf,  Durf,  Gurf,  etc.  Far  off  at  one  end  of  the 
continent  are 

vn  peuple  qui  approche  fort  des  Europeens,  &  qui  vit  sous  I'obeys- 
sance  de  plusieurs  Roys  (p.  61). 

Another  set  of  people,  divided  into  thirteen  kingdoms, 
inhabit  another  side  of  the  continent.  These  are  reported 
to  be  continually  waging  war  with  one  another  (p.  63). 

Within  the  region  visited  by  Sadeur,  there  is  a  perfect 
uniformity  of  language,  customs,  and  buildings.  All 
the  mountains  have  been  removed  *^  within  the  country 
but  on  its  southern  boundary  is  a  huge  mountain  chain 
separating  these  people  from  the  next  nation  who  are 
like  the  Europeans.  Among  the  people  with  whom 
Sadeur  Uved,  it  is  sufl&cient  to  know  one  district  in  order 
to  know  them  all  This  is  a  natural  result  of  the  nature 
of  the  inhabitants  qui  sont  nais  avec  cette  inclination  de 
ne  vouloir  absolumeni  rien  plus  que  les  autres  (pp.  63-64). 

Each  house  is  divided  in  four,  with  four  men  in  each 
quarter.  Sixteen  men  to  a  house,  twenty-five  houses  to 
each  ward,  sixteen  wards  to  each  sezain,  and  15,000 
sezains  in  the  country,  is  easily  computed  to  make  a 
population  of  96,000,000  people.  In  each  sezain  there  is 
a  large  structure  called  a  Hob.  It  is  built  of  transparent 
stone  and  ornamented  with  a  prodigious  quantity  of 
figures  in  all  sorts  of  colors.  There  are  human  forms, 
landscapes,  suns  and  other  things  represented.  This 
description  recalls  the  decorations  in  Campanella's  City 

who  come  to  the  water's  edge  with  fresh  fruit.  That  Foigny's 
Sadeur  should  have  fruit  of  two  bright  colors  instead  of  one  is 
typical  of  his  method  in  the  "extraordinary." 

"  M.  Chinard,  in  UAmMque  el  le  rSve  exotique,  p.  198,  says  of 
these  mountains,  "Les  hommes  les  ont  aplanies,  tout  comma  dans 
I'lle  des  Corsaires  de  Gomberville." 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  53 

o/  the  Sun,  and  the  way  in  which  the  children  of  that  city 
are  educated.  But  the  Hab  of  the  AustraUans  is  not  a 
place  of  education,  but  a  temple.  For  every  four  wards 
there  is  a  Heb,  built  of  the  same  stone  as  the  floor  of  the 
Hab  —  a  sort  of  jasper.  The  dome  is  of  transparent 
stone,  allowing  of  illumination.  This  Heb  is  divided 
into  four  sections,  one  for  the  education  of  the  youth  of 
each  ward  represented.  As  soon  as  a  child  is  con- 
ceived, its  parent  comes  to  live  at  the  Heb,  and  remains 
there  until  the  child  is  two  years  of  age.  After  this,  the 
parent  goes  away,  and  the  child  is  brought  up  with  the 
other  children.^^ 

The  children  are  divided  into  five  classes :  the  first  for 
general  principles,  the  second  for  reasoning  on  common 
tilings,  the  third  for  reason  and  argument,  the  fourth  for 
composition;  the  fifth  class  simply  wait  to  be  chosen 
to  act  as  Lieutenants,  whose  function  in  the  community 
will  be  explained  later.  Those  living  at  the  Heb  are 
fed  by  the  people  of  the  wards  represented,  who  are 
charged  with  delivering  the  necessary  food  daily.^^ 

All  of  this  community  school,  community  housing  for 
nursing  mothers,  and  community  eating  is  as  old  as 
Plato's  Republic  and  as  new  as  the  latest  profit-sharing: 
colony  of  the  twentieth  century.  It  is  difiicult  to  de- 
termine from  which  particular  "Ideal  Commonwealth" 
Foigny  took  the  details. 

There  are  two  remarkable  sorts  of  fruits  used  by  the 
Australians.     One  is 

1*  Compare  "When  their  women  have  brought  forth  children, 
they  suckle  and  rear  them  in  temples  set  apart  for  all.  They  give 
milk  fcr  two  years  or  more  as  the  physician  orders.  After  that 
time  the  weaned  child  is  given  into  the  charge  of  the  mistresses, 
if  it  is  a  female,  and  to  the  masters,  if  it  is  a  male."  Campanella, 
City  of  the  Sun,  transl.    Ed.  George  Routledge  &  Sons,  London,  1893. 

"  There  is  a  general  similarity  between  the  Heb  and  Hab  and 
the  temple  of  the  Incas,  Le  Commentaire  royal  ou  I'Histoire  des  Yncas. 


54  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

de  la  grosseur  des  pommes  de  renettes,  d'vne  couleur  plus 
^clatante  que  n6tre  pourpre,  d'vne  odeur  charmante,  &  d'vn 
gotit  incomparable  dans  I'Europe.  Sa  propriety  est  d'exciter 
le  sommeil  k  proportion  qu'on  en  mange;  aussi  est-ce  la  coAtume 
de  n'en  manger  que  le  soir  (p.  70). 

The  other  fruit  is  the  size  of  an  olive,  reddish  in  color, 
and  comes  from  a  tree  called 

Balf,  ou  arbre  de  Beatitude.  Si  on  en  mange  quatre  on  devient 
gay  par  exc^s;  en  mangeant  six,  on  s'endort  pour  vingt-quatre 
heures:  Mais  si  on  passe  outre,  on  s'endort  d'vn  dormir  qui  n'a 
point  de  reveil.  Et  ce  dormir  est  precede . . .  du  plus  grand 
bonheur  du  monde  . . .  Ce  fruit  les  fait  chanter  &  dancer  jusqu'au 
tombeau. 

Unless  the  AustraUans  eat  this  fruit,  or  meet  with  violence, 
they  never  die.  The  similarity  between  the  description 
of  these  fruits  and  the  accounts  of  real  travelers  regard- 
ing opium  eating  and  drug  taking  in  the  East  Indies  is 
evident.  Many  accounts  of  voyages  to  the  Indies  men- 
tion such  sleep  and  mirth  producing  drugs,  with  a  state- 
ment of  the  sinister  results  of  an  overdose  .2" 

There  is  considerable  space  given  to  the  geography 
and  topography  of  the  couptry.  The  coast  slopes  so 
gently  that 

apr^s  une  lieue  elle  ne  fait  pas  un  pied  (de  profondeur),  &  ainsi 
k  proportion . . .  il  est  impossible  d'approcher  de  cette  Terre 
du  c6t6  de  la  Mer,  qu'^  la  reserve  de  quelques  veines  d'eau  qui 
ne  sont  connAes  que  de  ceux  du  Pays  (p.  73).'^ 

2°  There  is  mention  of  une  herbe  qui  croist;  qui  en  menjue,  si 
meurt  en  riant  in  the  Image  du  monde  de  Maitre  Gossouin,  ed.  O.  H. 
Prior,  Lausanne,  1913,  p.  131.  Similar  accounts  in  later  Voyages 
simply  prove  this  to  be  a  persistent  —  and  perhaps  a  somewhat 
true  —  story.  To  say  that  Foigny  imitated  the  Images  du  Monde 
rather  than  later  authors  seems  hazardous,  however. 

*i  This  distinctly  recalls  More's  Utopia,  which  Foigny  must  have 
known. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  55 

After  having  denied  the  principle  that  climate  varies 
in  northern  and  southern  hemispheres  alike,  and  in 
proportion  to  the  distance  from  the  Equator,  Sadeur 
claims  for  the  Austral  climate  an  almost  complete  lack 
of  cold  in  winter  and  of  heat  in  summer.  There  follows 
a  curious  argument,  which  recalls  the  method  used  in 
justifying  Sadeur's  "discoveries"  in  the  Congo. 

Les  approches  du  Soleil  y  contribuent  si  peu,  que  si  on  y 
prend  garde  on  sera  oblig^  de  conclure,  qu'au  terns  qu'il  est  plus 
proche,  on  experimente  qu'il  est  moins  chaud  que  lorsqu'il  est 
plus  ^loign^.  On  salt  dans  I'Europe  que  les  chaleurs  de  May  & 
de  luin,  ne  ressemblent  pas  k  celles  de  luillet  &  d'Aoust  .  .  . 
On  est  souvent  gel6  en  luin,  lorsque  le  Soleil  est  en  sa  plus 
grande  Elevation,  &  on  est  r6ti  en  Juillet,  quand  il  se  retire. 
II  faut  done  autre  chose  que  sa  presence  pour  6tre  6chauff6 
(pp.  75-76). 

There  are  no  swamps,  no  flies,  insects,  spiders,  snakes, 
ni  bites  venimeuses  .  .  .  En  vn  mot,  c'est  vn  pais  .  .  . 
qui  est  exemt  de  toutes  les  incommoditez  qui  nous  environ- 
nent  (pp.  77-78).  After  a  study  of  the  life,  manners, 
and  customs  of  the  AustraUans,  it  will  be  found  that  this 
unfortunate  people  are  beset  through  the  greater  part 
of  the  year  with  savage  beasts,  which  do  not  exist  else- 
where on  earth.  The  fact  that  these  beasts  (which  hover 
over  the  Australians  in  the  last  chapters  of  the  narratives 
like  so  many  incubi)  are  not  "venimous,"  is  little  com- 
fort when  these  monsters  fly  down  from  the  air  and  kill 
two  or  three  men  at  a  time.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  book 
the  huge  birds  leave  Sadeur  httle  time  to  congratulate 
himself  on  the  absence  of  spiders  and  vermin.'^ 

**  The  insistence  on  lack  of  pests  in  this  part  of  the  book,  and 
from  time  to  time  throughout  the  story,  is  due  to  Foigny's  in- 
debtedness to  de  Quir's  Petition  to  the  King  of  Spain,  which  will 
be  fully  discussed  later. 


56  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

In  the  following  chapter,  De  la  constitution  des  Au8- 
traliens  &  de  leurs  CoHtumes,"  we  learn  that  Tous  les 
Australiens  ont  les  deux  sexes,  &  s'il  arrive  gu^un  enfant 
naisse  avec  un  seul  ils  Vetouffent  comme  un  monstre  (p.  78). 
This  is  of  course  the  converse  of  the  idea  of  those  times, 
according  to  which,  even  as  to-day,  hermaphrodites  were 
considered  as  monsters.  Unlike  many  other  startling 
peculiarities  of  the  Australians,  mentioned  by  Sadeur, 
the  hermaphroditism  of  these  people  has  a  philosophic 
significance.  Foigny  used  hermaphroditism  in  this  im- 
aginary people  to  do  away  at  one  stroke  with  the  evils 
of  love,  passion,  succession,  divorce,  marriage,  and  all 
such  evils  as  are  based  upon  the  fact  that  normal  human 
beings  have  one  sex.  It  has  been  pointed  out  that  in 
the  Hermaphrodites,  of  1605,  the  term  "hermaphro- 
dite" was  used  to  signify  "efifeminate"  "foppish,"  and 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  imaginary  floating  island 
were  simply  exaggerated  fops,  and  licentious  dandies. 
In  the  Terre  australe  the  term  is  used  in  its  full  biological 
sense,  and  the  supposition  of  this  imaginary  people,  each 
of  whom  has  the  two  sexes  in  his  person,  gives  Foigny  a 
weighty  cudgel  with  which  to  belabor  his  contemporaries, 
and  with  which  to  attack  European  society.  It  will  be 
found  further  that  it  serves  him  to  preach  feminism,  and 
that  he  uses  it  to  call  into  question  the  doctrine  of  the 
fall  of  Adam. 

The  legend  of  a  society  of  people,  each  of  whom  had 
the  power  to  reproduce  his  kind  unaided  by  another  in- 
dividual is  probably  a  very  old  one.  Like  many  other 
legends,  it  revived  from  time  to  time,  now  here,  now 
there.  That  it  existed  in  full-blown  form  in  Persia  in 
1340  A.D.  and  before  is  attested  by  the  works  of  Hamd- 
Allah  Mustawfi  of  Qazwin.^'     This  community  of  bisexual 

^  The  Geographical  Part  of  the  Nuzhat-al-Qulub,  arm- 
-posed    by    Hamd-Allah     Mustawfi    of    Qazwin    in    TJfi    (1340), 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  57 

beings  is  said  by  Mr.  Le  Strange  the  translator  to  occur 
in  accounts  of  Mohammed's  night  journey.  It  is  perhaps 
the  same  legend  in  another  form  which  is  found  in  the 
Voyages  de  Carpin.^  In  giving  an  account  of  the  history 
of  the  Tartars,  occurs: 

lis  vindrent  k  ce  qu'on  dit  en  vn  certain  pays,  oii  ils  trouuerent 
des  Monstres  ayans  semblance  de  femme;  &  comme  ils  leur 
vindrent  k  demander  par  diuers  interpretes,  od  estoient  les 
hommes  de  cette  terre  \k,  elles  respondoient  que  toutes  les  femmes 
qui  naissoient  en  ce  pays  1^  auoient  la  forme  humaine,  mais  les 
hommes  figures  de  chien. 

The  resemblance  of  Foigny's  colony  to  the  Amazons  of 
Greek  mythology  is  evident.  Bayle  **  calls  attention  to 
the  similarity  between  Sadeur's  account  of  the  Australians 
and  that  of  the  Androgynes  by  Plato. 

The  reporting  of  individual  cases  of  hermaphroditism 
is  common  in  accounts  of  voyages  both  to  America  and 
to  the  East  Indies.  In  the  Voyages  fameux  du  Sieur 
Vincent  Le  Blanc,  previously  referred  to,  there  is  mention 
of  an  island  (p.  138)  where  there  are 

plusieurs  hommes  hermaphrodites;  ce  qui  semble  prouenir  de 
la  trop  grande  abondance  de  semence,  mais  imparfaite,  causae 
par  les  espiceries  &  drogues  chaudes  du  pays. 

In  De  Bry,  Americae  insignis  &  admiranda  Historia, 
(Indorum  Floridam  provinciam  inhaMtantium  eicones  etc.), 
Pars  I,  Francfort,  MDXCI,  Tabl.  XVII  is  a  representa- 
tion of  "  Hermaphroditorum  oflficia."  In  this  engraving, 
hermaphrodites  are  being  borne  on  stretchers  by  the 
natives  of  Florida. 

transl.  G.  Le  Strange,  Luzac  &  Co.,  London,  1919,  pp.  266-267. 
The  translator's  notes  state  that  the  Community  in  question  ia 
mentioned  by  earlier  authors. 

**  Relation  des  Voyages  en  Tartarie,  Pierre  Bergeron,  Paris,  1634, 
p.  348.  * 

**  Dictionnaire  critiqiie,  ed.  1697,  Article  Sadeur. 


58  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

In  short,  hermaphroditism  is  one  of  the  commonest 
of  rareties  reported  by  travelers.  To  say  that  Foigny 
gleaned  much  from  any  particular  account  would  be 
vain.  No  matter  what  collection  of  voyages  he  read, 
the  chance  of  his  meeting  references  to  the  existence  of 
hermaphrodites  in  far-off  countries  would  have  been 
great.  In  reading  a  number  of  exaggerated  accounts  of 
real  voyages,  one  is  struck  with  the  relatively  small  num- 
ber of  things  about  which  the  human  mind  finds  it  pos- 
sible to  prevaricate.  Aside  from  exaggerations  of  size, 
color,  speed,  and  extreme  longevity,  there  only  remain 
the  "dolphin  in  the  woods,  the  boar  in  the  sea"  referred 
to  by  Horace,  and  accounts  of  sex  perversions.  Of  these 
last,  there  are  numberless  cases  of  man-animal  crosses, 
and  of  children  brought  up  by  animal  foster-parents. 
A  woman  mating  with  a  bear,  a  woman  mating  with  a 
monkey  have  been  mentioned  in  Le  Blanc's  Voyages. 
Foigny  explains  the  origin  of  the  Kaffirs  by  the  mating 
of  a  man  with  a  tigress.  The  legend  of  Romulus  and 
Remus  and  the  Mowgli  of  Kipling's  Jungle,  separated 
by  over  twenty-five  hundred  years,  should  be  sufficient 
proof  that  these  exaggerations  comprise  a  folk-lore  that 
is  static  on  the  frontiers  of  civihzation,  where  men  and 
animals  meet  in  a  sense  as  peers. 

An  interesting  legend  of  hermaphroditism  in  France  is 
cited  by  Bayle.^*    He  says, 

Je  me  souviens  k  ce  propos  d'avoir  lu  dans  la  Bibliothfique 
Frangoise  de  Du  Verdier  (p.  728),  les  vers  suivans: 

J'ai  veu  vif  sans  fantosme 
Un  jeune  Moyne  avoir 
Membre  de  femme  &  d'homme 
Et  enfans  concepvoir 

»  Bayle,  Diet.  CriL,  ed.  1697,  p.  988,  Notes. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  59 

Par  lui  seul  en  lui-ndme 
Engendrer  enfanter 
Comme  font  autres  femmes 
Sans  Oustil  emprunter. 

lis  sont  tirez  d'un  poeme  de  Jean  Molinet  intituM,  Recollection 
des  merveilles  advenues  de  son  terns. 

That  Foigny  knew  this  poem,  or  rather  the  story  con- 
tained in  it,  as  a  legend  of  monasteries  in  France,  is  easy 
of  belief.  Regardless  of  whether  he  knew  this  legend, 
whether  he  knew  any  particular  accomit  of  hermaphro- 
ditism in  accounts  of  voyages,  or  knew  the  political  and 
moral  satire,  Les  Hermaphrodites,  he  must  be  given 
credit,  for  having  used  an  imaginary  society  of  bisexual 
beings  in  a  far-off  and  little  known  continent,  as  a  basis 
for  "philosophic"  or  rationahstic  argument.  Of  this 
last  there  is  plenty  and  to  spare  in  the  chapters  in  which 
Sadeur  sits  at  the  feet  of  the  "bon  vieillard"  and  hears 
the  reasoning  of  an  unenlightened  Deist. 

There  remain  a  few  remarkable  features  of  the  Aus- 
trahans,  which  should  be  considered  before  coming  to 
the  philosophical  and  argumentative  part  of  the  book. 

Foigny  allows  his  hero  Sadeur  to  report  that  the  Aus- 
tralians are  of  a  color  qui  tire  plus  sur  le  rouge  qv£  sur  le 
vermeil  (p.  78).  Relatively  few  people  had  shared  with 
Malherbe  the  privilege  of  seeing  the  Brazihans  at  Paris,*^ 
and  some  of  Foigny's  readers  may  have  believed  this 
statement.  Other  features  of  the  AustraUans  such  as 
the  remarkable  fact  that  some  had  a  sort  of  tail  (p.  79) 
are  thrown  in  purely  to  excite  interest,  and  are  never 
mentioned  in  the  remainder  of  the  story.  With  a  lack 
of  style  that  is  surprising  if  not  commendable,  Foigny 
gives  all  the  startling  features  of  the  country  and  people 

^  For  an  account  of  Brazilians  in  Paris,  cf.  G.  Chinard,  L'Amir- 
rique  et  le  rive  exotigtie,  Paris,  1913,  pp.  22-23. 


60  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

in  his  imaginary  Australia  in  the  first  chapters  of  his 
account.  Only  those  features  are  again  referred  to  which 
have  necessarily  to  be  mentioned  in  order  to  authenticate 
the  story,  or  to  make  escape  from  the  country  at  the 
end  of  the  story  seem  fitting  and  possible.  That  this 
lack  of  coherent  exposition  is  common  to  both  this  novel 
in  particular  and  to  accounts  of  voyages  actually  made, 
is  an  interesting  Unk  between  Foigny  and  that  gorgeous 
liar  Vincent  Le  Blanc.  (The  careless  style  of  Le  Blanc, 
who  is  typical  of  the  exaggerated  real-voyage  school,  is 
epitomized  in  the  following.  After  describing  the  beauties 
and  riches  of  Goa  ^^  with  great  enthusiasm,  he  gives 
as  a  sort  of  after-thought  the  fact  that  they  have 
small-pox,  cholera,  scurvy,  and  other  diseases.)  The  ad- 
dition of  a  huge  amount  of  social  and  philosophical  matter 
in  the  Extraordinary  Voyage  occupies  the  space  which  in 
accounts  of  real  voyages  is  given  to  trade  in  this  or  that 
sort  of  merchandise,  descriptions  of  markets,  ports, 
customs  houses,  and  matters  pertaining  to  passports, 
and  favorable  seasons. 

The  manner  in  which  the  Australians  reproduce  their 
kind  remains  a  mystery  to  Sadeur  throughout  his  stay 
among  them.  Each  individual  is  obliged  to  present  one 
child  to  the  Heb,  to  be  educated,  but  it  is  a  crime  among 
them  to  speak  of  the  manner  in  which  children  are  con- 
ceived. Jamais  je  n'ay  pu  connitre  comme  la  generation 
s'y  fait  (p.  79).  Bayle  regrets  this  lack  of  precision 
in  the  account  of  Sadeur.'*'  The  following  is  a  fair  ex- 
ample of  the  adaptation  of  the  real  voyage  with  the 
purpose  of  criticizing  European  civihzation. 

lis  ne  sgavent  ce  que  veut  dire  le  mien  &  le  tien,  tout  est  commun 
entre  eux,  avec  une  sincerity  si  entiere:  que  I'homme  &  la  femme 

*'  Les  Voyages  famevx  du  Sieur  Vincent  Le  Blanc,  Paris,  1648, 
p.  76. 

"  Bayle,  Diet.  CrU.,  ed.  1697,  p.  988. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  61 

n'en  peuvent  avoir  une  plus  parfaite  parmi  les  Europeens 
(p.  80).*> 

For  his  inquisitiveness  in  matters  of  sex,  Sadeur  is  in 
danger  of  death  at  the  hands  of  the  AustraUans,  and  is 
only  saved  by  the  plea  of  a  venerable  old  man  who  wit- 
nessed his  extreme  bravery  in  fighting  the  birds  on  his 
arrival.  The  manner  in  which  Sadem-  accuses  the 
Australians  of  pretending  to  keep  silent  about  sex  matters, 
and  the  means  he  takes  to  overcome  the  scruples  of  one 
AustraUan  accords  well  enough  with  what  is  known  of 
the  moral  character  of  his  creator,  Foigny. 

The  old  man,  who  labors  under  the  name  of  Suains, 
takes  Sadeur  aside  and  says, 

II  n'est  qu'un  expedient  que  je  te  propose  . .  .  qui  est  que  tu 
viennes  avec  liberty  me  d^couvrir  tes  doutes,  &  je  te  donneray 
toute  la  satisfaction  que  tu  pourras  souhaiter,  pourveu  que  tu 
sois  discret  (p.  82).'^ 

Naturally,  the  comparison  of  Europe  and  AustraUa  is 
now  upon  us.  Suains  concludes  from  an  account  of  the 
diet  of  Europeans  that  it  is  only  natural  that  these  be- 
nighted beings  never  hve  beyond  a  hundred  years.  He 
contends  further  that  a  human  being  devoid  of  either  of 
the  two  sexes  cannot  reason,  because  he  is  imperfect 
to  begin  with.  Sadeur  retorts  by  comparing  man  to  the* 
other  animals.  From  this  analogy  he  asserts  that  persons 
having  only  one  sex  are  natural,  while  hermaphrodites 
are  monsters.  This  gives  Suains  the  chance  he  has  been 
waiting  for,  and  he  answers, 

*"  That  such  statements  are  to  be  found  in  Le  Blanc's  Voyages 
has  already  been  pointed  out. 

*'  M.  Chinard,  in  UAmerique  et  le  rSve  exotique,  has  pointed  out 
that  the  venerable  old  man  is  a  stock  character  in  the  relations  of 
the  missionaries.  It  is  always  this  character  who  takes  the  visitor 
aside  and  explains  the  language  and  people. 


62  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

Ton  raisonnement  vous  suppose  ce  que  nous  vous  croyons,  k 
savoir  des  b^tes  (p.  88). 

There  follows  a  long  harangue  in  which  Suains  bases  the 
difference  between  animals  and  men  (of  his  kind)  on  the 
fact  that  man  is  perfect  and  sufficient  to  himself,  whereas 
the  beasts  are  taken  up  with  the  business  of  mating. 
Sadeur,  upon  reflection,  is  convinced  of  the  justice  of  this 
statement,  and  of  the  brutaUty  and  bestiality  of  Euro- 
peans. The  good  Australian,  upon  learning  the  rights 
of  fathers  in  Europe,  is  astonished  that  women  should  be 
so  downtrodden,  considering  that  the  burdens  of  the  world 
are  upon  the  mothers  and  not  upon  the  fathers.  Sadeur 
is  thus  convinced  that 

ce  grand  empire  que  le  m&le  avoit  usurps  sur  la  femelle  6toit 
plAtot  une  espece  de  tyrannic,  que  de  conduite  de  lustice  (p.  95). 

Bayle  quotes  from  Mademoiselle  Bourignon  "  a  passage 
"revealed  to  her  by  God"  in  which  Adam  is  said  to  have 
possessed  the  two  sexes  originally.  He  reproduced  his 
kind,  unaided,  by  the  simple  expedient  of  praying  to  God. 
The  natural  processes  then  took  place  within  him. 
One  quotation  from  this  strange  visionary  may  be  given 
(as  cited  by  Bayle)  from  its  similarity  to  the  spirit  of 
the  Sadeur  version. 

C'est  ainsi  que  dans  la  vie  ^ternelle  il  y  aura  une  generation 
sainte  &  sans  fin,  bien  autre  que  celle  que  le  pech6  a  introduite 
par  le  moyen  de  la  femme.^ 

There  is  no  certainty  that  Foigny  knew  of  the  visions  of 
Mademoiselle  Bourignon,'*  but  protest  against  those 
natural  laws  which  govern  both  men  and  animals,  going 
hand   in   hand   with   protest   against   the   downtrodden 

«  Bayle,  Did.  CHL,  ed.  1697.    Article  Adam,  p.  94.  »  Id. 

**  This  strange  visionary,  Antoinette  Bourignon,  was  bom  in 
1616  and  died  in  1680. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  63 

estate  of  woman,  constitutes  the  feminist  point  of  view  of 
both.  In  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes  of  Vairasse,  one 
comes  to  the  opposite  pole  of  polygamy,  but  in  the  Terre 
australe  connue,  there  is  definite  feminism. 

The  wars  and  massacres  of  Europe  are  harshly  judged 
by  Suains  to  be  the  result  of  a  spirit  akin  to  that  of 
the  Fondins,  who  are  des  Barbares  dont  le  Pays  confine 
celui  des  AiLstraliens.  According  to  Australian  standards 
quarreling  among  men  is  impossible  by  definition,  for 
reason  and  quarreling  do  not  go  together.  In  the  words 
of  Suains,  Comme  le  Soleil  ne  pent  etre  Soleil  guHl  n'eclaire 
.  .  .  ainsi  I'homme  ne  peut  Ure  homme  quHl  ne  differe  des 
bites  (p.  97). 

Equality  in  education  in  Australia  does  away  with 
any  possible  source  of  quarrels.  Jealousy  and  hatred 
are  considered  natural  results  of  unequal  advantages. 

The  wearing  of  clothing  fills  Suains  with  horror;  he 
cannot  even  be  reconciled  to  the  idea  upon  the  basis  of 
a  cold  climate. 

II  faut  ^tre  pis  que  b^te  pour  faire  s^jour  oil  on  n'est  accueilly 
que  de  maux,  sur  tout  quand  lis  sont  mortals  (p.  101). 

Of  clothing  as  an  aid  to  moraUty,  the  worthy  man  cannot 
be  persuaded.  He  compares  Europeans  to  les  petits 
enfans  qui  ne  connoissent  plus  un  objet  aiissi-tdt  qu'il  est 
voile  (p.  102).  All  of  this  so  impresses  Sadeur,  that 
he  says 

J'^coutois  cet  homme  plAtot  comme  un  Oracle,  que  comme  un 
philosophe  ...  A  voir  ces  gens,  on  diroit  facilement  qu'Adam 
n'a  pas  pech6  en  eux  (p.  103).'* 

With  regard  to  Uberty,  Suains  has  very  definite  con- 
victions. 

'*  The  relation  of  Foigny's  ideal  people  to  the  doctrine  of  the 
fall  of  man,  through  Adam,  is  of  great  interest  to  Bayle. 


64  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

L'essence  de  rhomme  consistoit  en  la  liberty,  &  la  lui  vouloir 
6ter  sans  le  d^truire,  c'^toit  le  vouloir  faire  subsister  sans  son 
essence"  (p.  107). 

This  liberty  is  based  upon  equality.     Suains  said  that: 

c'6toit  de  la  nature  de  Thomme  de  naitre  libre:  qu'on  ne  pouvoit 
I'assujettir  sans  le  faire  renoncer  k  soy  m4me . . .  I'homme  ne 
peut  naitre  pour  le  service  d'un  autre  honune, .  . .  s'il  arrive 
qu'on  le  lie,  &  qu'on  le  captive,  il  perd  bien  le  mouvement 
exterieur  de  sa  liberty,  mais  I'interieur  ne  diminue  point  (pp. 
107-108). 

The  superiority  of  the  Australians  over  the  Europeans 
is  nowhere  more  clearly  demonstrated  than  in  the  long 
reflection  of  Sadeur  upon  the  relative  merits  of  the  two 
peoples  (pp.  109-110).  He  says  that  after  a  long  con- 
versation with  Suains, 

J'entray  au  Hab, . . .  admirant  les  connoissances  &  les  grandes 
Imnieres  dont  ce  peuple  ^toit  remply ...  II  me  sembloit  que 
plusieurs  ^cailles  6toient  tomb^es  de  mes  yeux  . . .  le  ne  pouvois 
que  je  n'admirasse  leur  conduite  oppos^e  h  nos  deffauts. 

Again,  having  spoken  of  the  lust,  murders,  dissensions 
and  imperfections  of  Europeans  (p.  Ill), 

enfin  quand  je  me  voyois  oblig^  de  confesser  que  la  passion 
nous  conduisoit  beaucoup  plus  que  la  raison;  je  I'avoue,  j'ad- 
mirois  ce  peuple,  &  je  souhaitois  que  I'exemple  d'un  vray  homme 
pAt  servir  k  confondre  la  vanity  de  plusieurs,  qui  faisant  gloire 
d'etre  6clairez  des  lumieres  sumaturcUes  vivent  conune  dea 
bfites:  pendant  que  ceux  qui  ne  sont  conduits  que  de  Thumanit^ 
font  paretre  tant  d'exemples  de  vertu  (pp.  111-112). 

This  is  more  than  rampant  Deism.  It  is  the  expression 
of  a  wish  that  Deism  and  rational  religion  might  supplant 
the  revealed  religions  and  also,  a  thinly  veiled  attack  on 
the  missionary  spirit  of  the  time  in  Europe. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  65 

Chapter  VI  (p.  159)  bears  the  title  "De  la  Religion  des 
Austrahens."  The  Australian  belief  is  a  very  delicate 
subject.  It  is  an  unheard-of  crime  among  them  to  speak 
of  it,  either  to  discuss  it  or  in  order  to  enlighten  any  one. 
It  is  only  the  mothers,  who,  with  their  first  teaching, 
include  that  of  the  Haab,  c'est  a  dire  V Incomprehensible 
(p.  112).  They  hold  that  this  Incomprehensible  permeates 
everything,  and  further  that  it  greatly  offends  this  Deity 
to  discuss  his  divine  perfection,  to  praise  him  or  to  pray 
to  him  for  anything.  In  short  leur  grande  Religion  est 
de  ne  pas  parler  de  Religion  (p.  112).  Inasmuch  as  they 
do  not  attempt  to  define  the  Incomprehensible,  the  Aus- 
tralians prefer  to  keep  silent  on  such  matters  rather  than 
to  make  false  statements  and  cause  the  endless  quarrels 
and  disputes  which  must  result  from  such  discussion. 

Suains,  however,  is  an  exception.  In  order  to  instruct 
his  prot^g^  Sadeur,  he  discusses  reUgion  with  him  at 
length  (pp.  114-136).  Suains  is  a  Deist.  He  protests 
against  the  theory  of  atomic  materialism,  current  at  the 
time  among  free-thinkers  in  France. 

Rapporter  tout  ce  que  nous  voyons  k  des  cas  fortuits,  qui  n'ayent 
aucun  autre  principe  qu'un  mouvement  local,  &  le  rencontre  de 
plusieurs  petits  corps:  c'est  s'embarasser  en  des  difficultez  qu'on 
ne  resoudra  jamais,  &  se  mettre  en  danger  de  commettre  un 
blaspheme  execrable  (p.  115). 

Behef  in  le  grand  Architede  <fc  le  supreme  Moderateur 
(p.  115)  is  considered  by  the  Australians  as  le  fondement 
de  tous  nos  principes.  They  do  not  beUeve  that  this 
supreme  Being,  the  Haab,  acts  in  particular  matters. 
His  actions  are  only  universal.  To  statements  that 
there  have  been  revelations  to  several  peoples,  Suains 
retorts: 

Mais  comment  croire,  que  le  Haab  a  plust6t  parl6  aux  uns 
qu'aux  autres?    Et  d'od  pent  provenir  . . .  qu'il  prefere  plustdt 


66  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

les  uns  que  les  autres,  pour  les  favoriser  de  ses  lumieres?  (pp. 
123-124). 

Notwithstanding  all  the  pious  declarations  in  the  novel, 
Suains  always  answers  Sadeur,  and  the  latter  never 
refutes  the  Australian  beliefs,  Foigny  speaks  through 
the  mouth  of  Suains,  and  not  through  that  of  Sadeur.^ 

That  Deism,  in  fact  if  not  in  name,  existed  among  free- 
thinkers in  France  at  the  time  the  Terre  australe  connue 
was  written,  is  well  recognized.  Rationalistic  processes 
of  thought  and  revealed  religion  have  always  made 
strange  bedfellows.  That  deistic  ideas  must  have  re- 
ceived stimulus  in  France  from  accounts  of  strange 
peoples  is  perhaps  less  appreciated.  The  reasoning  of 
Manco  Capac,  one  of  the  Inca  Kings,  and  the  beUef  of 
the  initiated  among  the  Incas  in  an  incomprehensible 
and  invisible  God,  the  Pachacamac,  has  been  mentioned 
in  Chapter  II  of  this  study  in  treating  the  Commentaire 
royal,  translated  from  the  Spanish  of  Garcilaso  in  1633. 
Other  editions  of  the  Commentaire  royal  in  1658  and  1672 
are  ample  proof  of  its  popularity.  In  1634  there  appeared 
in  Paris  the  Relation  des  Voyages  en  Tartaric,  of  Pierre 
Bergeron.  In  this  occurs  an  Asiatic  counterpart  of  the 
South  American  reUgion.    Of  the  Tartars,  one  reads: 

Pour  ce  qui  est  de  leur  Religion,  ils  croyent  vn  Dieu  Createur 
de  toutes  choses,  tant  visibles  qu'inuisibles,  &  qui  donne  les 
recompenses  &  les  peines  aux  hommes,  selon  leurs  merites, 
Et  toutesfois  ils  ne  I'honorent  pas  par  prieres  &  loiianges,  ny 
par  aucun  seruice  &  ceremonies.  (Voy.  en  Tartarie,  eh.  iii, 
p.  323.) 

**  There  is  a  vague  general  statement  that  the  Australians  believe 
in  the  transmigration  of  souls.  It  is  only  mentioned  once,  and 
Sadeur  says  it  was  explained  to  him: 

d'un  air  si  relev6  que  je  ne  pAs  retenir  ce  qu'il  me  dit,  bien  qu'en 
I'^coutant,  je  comprisse  en  quelque  fagon  toutes  ses  propositions 
(p.  136). 


IN   FRENCH   LITERATURE  67 

A  similar  report  has  already  been  referred  to  in  the 
Voyages  fameux  du  Sieur  Vincent  Le  Blanc,  1648. 

Whether  Foigny  knew  any  or  all  of  these  accounts  of 
deistic  rehgion  in  far  countries,  or  whether  he  followed 
the  abstract  reasoning  of  other  free-thinkers  of  his  time 
in  France,  is  of  course  secondary  in  importance.  The 
chief  interest  in  the  Deism  of  the  Terre  australe  connue 
in  the  present  study  Ues  in  the  fact  that  Foigny  used  an 
imaginary  people  whose  rehgion  is  Deism,  to  criticize 
the  rehgious  quarrels  in  Europe,  and  to  attack  revealed 
rehgion.  Jean  Beaudoin,  in  translating  the  history  of 
the  Incas  from  the  Spanish,  and  Bergeron  in  editing  the 
Voyages  en  Tartarie  and  the  Voyages  of  Le  Blanc  had 
undermined  the  foimdations  of  revealed  rehgion,  or  in 
any  case  had  given  weapons  to  those  who  chose  later  to 
attack  it.  With  Foigny,  the  attack  is  conscious,  care- 
fully thought  out,  and  therefore  more  dangerous.  As 
long  as  rehgious  differences  in  Europe  were  confined 
to  interpretations  of  a  single  revelation,  there  existed 
only  orthodoxy  and  heterodoxy.  Among  the  heterodox 
were  the  free-thinkers.  It  would  seem  hkely  that  the 
number  of  free-thinkers  did  not  increase  by  pure  accident 
in  France  in  the  same  period  with  the  first  favorable 
presentation  of  other  revelations  conflicting  with  Christian 
theology.  Thanks  to  reports  of  peoples  living  in  peace 
and  in  righteousness,  who  had  never  had  a  revelation  of  any 
sort,  such  as  the  Incas  and  (in  some  reports)  the  Tartars, 
it  became  possible  to  defend  Deistic  ideas  by  appeal  to 
precedent  as  well  as  to  reason.  The  elaboration  of 
Foigny  upon  this  basis,  and  his  creation  of  an  imaginary 
people  capable  of  examining,  appraising,  and  rejecting 
the  revelation  known  in  Europe,  is  a  dangerous  step. 
M.  Lanson  has  pointed  ouf  the  similarity  of  Foigny 's 

*^  G.  Lanson,  Origines  et  premibres  manifestations  de  I'esprit  philoso- 
phigue,  etc.    Revue  des  Cours  et  Conferences,  Avril  1908,  pp.  146-147. 


68  THE  EXTBAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

rationalism  to  that  of  Spinoza,  and  has  taken  this  as 
probable  proof  that  Foigny  knew  the  ideas  of  Spinoza, 
even  if  he  did  not  know  Spinoza's  Ethique,  which  was 
published  only  in  1677. 

A  statement  similar  to  that  fomid  in  the  History  of 
the  Incas  and  to  that  of  the  Australians  of  Foigny's 
imagination  is  to  be  found  in  the  works  of  Saint-Evremond. 
In  his  lugement  sur  les  sciences  ou  peut  s'appliquer  un 
honnite  homme,^^  pubUshed  without  name  of  author, 
together  with  some  satires  of  Boileau,  in  Paris  in  1666, 
occurs  the  following: 

La  Theologie  me  semble  fort  considerable,  comme  une  science 
qui  regards  le  salut ;  mais,  k  mon  avis,  elle  devient  trop  commune, 
et  11  est  ridicule  que  les  femmes  meme  osent  agiter  des  questions 
qu'on  devroit  trailer  avec  beaucoup  de  myst^re  et  de  secret. 
Ce  seroit  assez  pour  nous  d'avoir  de  la  docility  et  de  la  sou- 
mission. 

That  this  was  a  natural  reflex  of  too  much  rationalistic 
patter  at  the  time  goes  without  saying.  It  is,  however, 
diflScult  to  beheve  that  the  pubUshed  voyages  of  the 
time  were  without  effect  in  this  growing  rationahsm. 

Among  the  Australians,  as  reported  by  Sadeur,  there 
is  a  complete  absence  of  diseases.  Even  child-birth  is 
painless  among  these  sane,  sensible  people,  who  eat 
soberly,  and  only  fruits.  Because  of  their  diet  they  are 
free  from  passions,  and,  by  extension,  from  bile,  humors, 
and  other  weakening  causes. 

The  certainty  that  others  will  renounce  living,  and  the 
consequent  necessity  of  parting  with  friends,  causes  the 
AustraUans  to  see  the  futility  of  loving  any  person  or 
thing  to  excess.    They  are  therefore  glad  when  their 

»»  Saint-Evremond,  (Euvres  MiUes,  Paris,  1865,  t.  1,  p.  57.  (Ed. 
Techener  Fils.) 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  69 

turn  comes  to  find  a  lieutenant  to  take  their  place.  When 
one  of  the  "brothers"  in  this  community  has  Hved  a 
hundred  years  or  more  and  no  longer  cares  to  exist,  he 
selects  a  young  man  of  at  least  thirty-five  (at  which  age 
the  formal  education  of  the  people  ends)  to  replace  him 
on  earth.  The  elder  man  is  then  permitted  to  eat  of  the 
proper  fruit  in  the  proper  quantity,  and  dies  joyously, 
as  previously  explained.  This  manner  of  looking  at 
life  and  death  (which  is  mentioned  only  once  in  the 
book)  is  strongly  tinged  with  pessimism  —  such  as  that 
of  Job  in  the  Old  Testament.  Even  in  this  wonderful 
civihzation  of  theirs,  men  are  glad  to  be  at  rest,  far 
from  the  world  and  its  ways. 

Perhaps  Foigny  unwittingly  gives  the  clue  here  to  the 
failure  of  all  systematized  and  prearranged  schemes  of 
fife  and  society.  If  we  had  no  cold  weather,  no  vermin 
or  pests,  no  unhealthy  food,  and  no  diseases  to  kill  us, 
if  all  our  goings  and  comings  were  regulated  to  a  stroke 
of  the  bell,  we  should  weary  of  the  monotony  neverthe- 
less after  a  century  or  so,  and  welcome  the  convenience 
of  the  Balf-tree,  much  as  the  worthy  AustraUans. 

The  day  is  divided  into  three  parts  of  five  hours  each, 
among  these  people:  from  5  to  10  a.m.,  from  10  a.m.  to 
3  P.M.,  and  from  3  to  8  p.m.  The  night  is  undivided,  as 
the  whole  community  sleeps  soundly  after  taking  several 
sleep-producing  fruits.  The  population  is  divided  into 
four  shifts.  These  alternate  in  the  three  divisions  of 
the  day  so  that  the  monotony  is  recurrent  rather  than 
fixed.  In  the  Hob  or  temple,  they  remain  five  hours 
without  speaking,  lost  in  ascetic  contemplation  of  the 
mysteries  of  heaven  and  earth.  Others  argue  and  reason 
at  the  Heb  or  place  of  instruction.  The  second  part  of 
the  day  is  devoted  to  work  in  the  gardens  where  flowers 
are  cultivated.  Fountains,  troughs,  and  basins  have  to 
be  kept  in  order.     By  spraying  fruits  with  certain  fluids 


70  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

an  especially  delicious  flavor  is  imparted.  The  third  part 
of  the  day  is  devoted  to  public  functions.  First,  there 
are  physical  exercises  with  the  sword,  with  weights,  and 
with  balls.  After  this,  new  inventions  are  explained. 
With  regard  to  these,  Sadeur  says  (p.  160),  En  32  ans 
gu'il  y  a  que  je  suis  dans  ce  pays,  fen  ay  remargui  plus 
de  cinq  milles,  qui  passeroient  pour  des  prodiges  entre  nos 
meilleurs  esprits.  Those  listed  by  Sadeur  include  growing 
flowers  from  lifeless  pieces  of  wood,  creating  a  bird  from 
earth  moistened  with  a  certain  liquor  and  warmed  by  the 
sun,  and  creating  a  Uttle  dog  by  almost  the  same  pro- 
cess. Materials  are  mysteriously  hardened  and  softened 
and  water  is  magnetized.  One  of  the  "brothers,"  or 
inhabitants  of  this  perfect  land,  makes  himself  invisible 
for  two  hours  by  virtue  of  sea-water  mixed  with  juice 
taken  from  the  fruits  cultivated  in  the  gardens  (pp.  161- 
164). 

The  use  of  sea-water  in  many  of  these  experiments, 
together  with  the  creation  of  Uving  plants  and  animals, 
is  strongly  tinged  with  the  magic  of  the  Hindus,  who  use 
the  sacred  waters  of  their  rivers  to  perform  wonders  for 
the  admiring  populace.  The  street  magicians  of  India 
and  of  China  have  performed  similar  feats  for  a  thousand 
years.  That  they  were  known  to  perform  feats  of  magic 
in  these  countries  appears  in  many  17th  century  accounts 
of  voyages  to  the  East.  It  would  be  futile  to  contend 
that  Foigny  took  his  examples  from  one  rather  than  an- 
other. Further,  it  is  Hkely  that  he  invented  from  his 
own  imagination  some  of  the  twelve  cases  he  cites. 

Chapter  IX  is  devoted  to  the  languages  of  the  people, 
a  monosyllabic  language  in  which  each  letter  has  a 
meaning.  The  words  are  necessarily  self-explanatory  for 
vowels  represent  the  elements,  and  consonants  are  ad- 
jectives. Children  learn  the  composition  of  objects  at 
the  same  time  that  they  learn  how  to  spell.     As  the 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  71 

singular  of  the  verb  "to  love"  is  conjugated  "la,  pa,  ma," 
it  is  only  fitting  and  proper  that  the  plural  should  be 
"11a,  ppa,  mma."  When  the  one  past  tense  is  given, 
it  is  rather  difficult  to  pronounce  "he  has  loved"  —  which 
is  spelled  "  mga."  As  for  the  third  person  plural,  "  mmga," 
it  must  be  admitted  that  the  Austrahans  are  in  their 
enunciation  what  Sadeur  says  of  them  as  to  their  athletic 
exercises:   d'une  grande  agilite. 

Perhaps  the  better  to  escape  the  eyes  of  those  certain 
to  criticize  the  book,  there  is  tucked  away  in  this  chapter 
a  very  important  bit  of  rationalistic  argument.  Not- 
withstanding Sadeur' s  preliminary  statement  that  in 
their  ancient  history  Us  font  paretre  de  la  foiblesse,  &  de 
V extravagance  (p.  174),  there  is  satire  intended.  First, 
their  creation  dates  from  twelve  thousand  years  before^ 
contrary  to  the  Biblical  tradition.  Then,  lis  out  de 
vieilles  ecorces  qu'ils  estiment  de  huit  mille  revolutions:  & 
on  y  distingue  leurs  annales  (p.  174).  As  for  the  first 
five  thousand  years,  of  their  history,  Sadeur  remarks 
jamais  je  n'y  ay  pU  rien  comprendre.  As  for  these  books; 
of  sacred  history,  la  seule  raison  .  .  .  pour  autoriser  la 
verite  de  ce  gu'ils  contiennent,  est  que  ce  sont  des  hommes 
qui  les  ont  Merits,  qui  etant  incapables  de  tromper,  ont  con- 
seguemment  remarqui  ce  qui  se  passoit  alors  (p.  175). 
The  conclusion  which  follows  is  ingenious: 

Mais  si  ce  qu'ils  apportent  etoit  vray,  les  ^toiles  seroient 
multipli^es  des  deux  tiers,  le  Soleil  grossy,  &  la  Lune  fort  di- 
minu6e :  la  mer  auroit  chang6  de  place,  &  mille  choses  pareilles 
qui  sont  hors  de  toute  apparence  (p.  175). 

That  this  is  a  thinly  veiled  criticism  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment as  an  authentic  document  is  evident. 

The  questioning  of  the  authenticity  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment was,  of  course,  only  a  natural  result  of  study  of 
theories  of  the  creation  according  to  other  traditions. 


72  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

As  long  as  only  one  theory  of  the  creation  was  known  in 
Europe,  it  was  not  easy  to  doubt  it.  When,  however, 
the  traditions  of  other  nations  became  known,  doubt 
of  the  story  of  Genesis  sprang  up,  just  as  did  demonstrable 
Deism.  While  it  is  not  impossible  at  all  that  Foigny 
knew  the  Traicte  des  Tartares  of  Pierre  Bergeron ''  the 
quotation  which  follows  is  submitted  rather  as  an  ex- 
ample of  similar  divergence  from  the  book  of  Genesis 
than  as  an  absolute  source  of  Foigny's  ideas  in  the  Terre 
australe  connue. 

According  to  the  Tartar  computations,  their  monarchy 
is  very  old.  Their  account  feroit  commencer  leur  Monar- 
chie  pres  de  300  ans  auant  le  deluge;  chose  du  tout  fausse 
<fc  absurde;  il  faut  releguer  cela  auec  les  fabuleuses  Dynasties 
des  Chaldees  &  Egyptiens.*°  Bergeron  continues  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  the  Europeans  (who  are  by  their 
own  admission  more  civiUzed  than  the  Tartars)  to  keep 
so  long  a  record  and  still  avoid  les  origines  fabuleuses 
.  .  .  sans  I'aide  d'vne  plus  haute  &  certaine  connoissance 
que  nous  fournit  la  parole  de  Dieu.*^ 

That  Foigny  took  this  account,  or  some  other  similar 
to  it,  and  changed  it  about  to  suit  his  own  purpose  in 
ridiculing  the  story  of  Genesis  and  the  Old  Testament, 
is  very  easy  to  believe. 

Similarity  between  the  account  of  the  ancient  history 
of  the  Tartars  and  that  of  the  Australians  is  far  from 
being  proof  that  Foigny  knew  this  particular  TraictS  des 
Tartares.  That  he  knew  this  Traicti  can  be  doubted. 
Foigny  may  have  based  his  story  of  the  Australian  tra- 
ditions on  any  of  a  number  of  traditions  reported  by 
travelers  to  the  East.  He  may  have  based  it  upon  criti- 
cism of  the  traditions  of  the  Egyptians  and  Chaldeans, 

*»  Paris,  1634.    An  analysis  of  Voyages  to  Tartary. 
*•  Traicte  des  Tartares,  pp.  143-144. 
**  Traicti  des  Tartares,  p.  145. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  73 

or  other  peoples,  written  in  good  faith  by  the  progressive 
clergy  in  France  and  other  countries.*^  M.  Lanson  has 
pointed  out  the  use  of  rationalistic  method  on  the  part 
of  the  clergy  in  France  at  about  the  time  the  Terre  aus- 
trale  connue  was  written,  and  the  comparison  of  other 
reUgious  history  with  the  orthodox  Christian  tradition 
—  of  course  to  the  glory  of  the  latter.^ 

The  interesting  and  important  fact  in  Foigny's  criticism 
of  the  story  of  Genesis  is  that  he  used  the  traditions  of 
another  people,  and  a  rationaUstic  method  of  thinking, 
to  arrive  at  a  very  dangerous  satire.  Free-thinking  and 
rationalism  needed  just  this  knowledge  of  other  peoples 
and  other  rehgious  traditions  to  enable  them  to  put  forth 
a  demonstrable  denial  of  Christian  doctrine.  To  the 
present  author,  it  seems  that  perhaps  too  Uttle  importance 
has  been  attached  in  the  past  to  the  philosophic  material 
furnished  by  the  accounts  of  real  voyages.  That  such 
material  is  used  as  a  weapon  against  Christian  teachings 
by  Foigny  in  his  fictitious  voyage  is  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant facts  concerning  the  Terre  australe  connue. 

According  to  Austrahan  belief  and  written  tradition, 
the  Europeans,  who  only  have  one  sex,  are  "demi- 
hommes"  and  similar  to  beasts  who  have  the  same 
characteristics.  Long  ago,  a  complete  human  being 
(having  the  two  sexes)  was  seduced  by  a  snake.  The 
snake  and  this  person  swam  to  another  part  of  the  world 
together.  Of  this  union,  a  pair  of  children  were  bom, 
one  a  man  (in  the  European  sense),  one  a  woman.  These 
monsters  ate  fish,  flesh,  and  other  things  commonly 
eaten  by  savage  beasts,  and  became  more  and  more  hke 

*'  See  G.  J.  Vossius,  De  vera  aetate  mundi,  The  Hague,  1659. 

"  G.  Lanson,  Origines  et  premibres  manifestations  de  Vesprit 
philosophique,  Revue  des  Cours  et  Confirencss,  1908.  The  Demon- 
stratio  evangelica  of  Huet,  and  criticism  of  it  in  the  Journal  des 
Savons,  January  9,  1679,  are  referred  to. 


74  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

animals.  Here  is  a  keen  bit  of  satire  on  the  origin  of 
man  according  to  Genesis.  It  fits  particularly  well 
with  the  story  of  the  uncorrupted  AustraUans  still  Uving 
in  their  Eden,  far  from  sorrow,  care,  and  the  evils  of  the 
flesh.  Bayle  remarks**  that  the  AustraUans  of  the 
Terre  australe  connue 

ne  descendent  point  d'Adam,  mais  d'un  Androgyne,  qui  ne 
dechut  point  comme  lui  de  son  6tat  d'innocence.  Ce  tour-li 
seroit  assez  bien  imaging  pour  tromper  la  vigilance  des  Censeurs 
de  livres,  &  pour  prevenir  les  difficultez  du  privilege,  en  cas 
qu'on  vouliit  faire  tenter  fortune  k  un  systeme  Preadamitique. 

He  also  calls  attention  to  the  similarity  between  the 
Australian  legend  and  the  old  heresy  of  Eve  bearing 
two  children  to  the  snake  that  tempted  her.  In  the 
Article  Adam  of  Bayle's  Dictionnaire,  of  the  same 
edition,^^  is  recorded  another  curious  heresy  —  that  Adam 
and  Eve  were  united,  after  the  fashion  of  monsters  of 
the  "Siamese-twin"  type,  and  that  God  made  Eve  from 
Adam's  side  by  cutting  the  bond  of  flesh  that  bound  the 
two  together.  It  is  probably  to  somewhat  similar 
heresies  that  M.  Lanson  refers  in  this  connection  **  in 
saying  plusieurs  rabbins  ont  considers  Adam  comme 
ayant  les  deus  sexes  avant  son  peche.  That  Bayle  goes 
on  in  his  Article  Sadeur  to  discuss  the  Androgynes  of 
Plato  and  the  translations  of  Plato  into  French  has  no 
great  importance  in  the  present  study.  Doubtless 
Foigny  was  aware  of  the  heresies  preached  by  the  rabbis, 
and  he  probably  knew  the  ideas  of  Plato.  That  he  had 
so  thorough  a  knowledge  of  the  literature  of  hermaphro- 
ditism as  had  Bayle  is  easy  to  doubt. 

**  Bayle,  Diet.  CHL,  ed.  1697,  p.  989. 
«  Bayle,  Diet.  Crit.,  ed.  1697,  p.  95,  Note  F. 
*•  G.    Lanson,    Origines    et   premihes   manifestations   de   Vesprit 
pkUoaophique,  Revue  des  Cows  et  Confirences,  Avril  1908,  p.  145. 


IN  FRENCH   LITERATURE  75 

Chapter  X  of  the  Terre  australe  connue  gives  an  ac- 
count of  the  animals  of  this  remarkable  land.  After  a 
short  allusion  to  the  absence  of  snakes  in  Ireland,  wolves 
in  England,  and  other  curiosities,  Sadeur  brings  in  again 
the  absence  of  all  sorts  of  worms,  spiders  and  snakes  in 
this  happy  land.  The  natives  can  sleep  on  the  bare 
ground,  and  fruits  can  grow  undisturbed  to  a  luxurious 
maturity,  because  of  this  negative  blessing. 

There  is  description  of  a  sort  of  monkeys,  formerly 
used  as  pets  by  the  natives.  These  are  now  prohibited 
as  they  interfere  with  the  serenity  of  the  meditations  in 
the  Hah.  Pigs  of  a  remarkable  sort  are  found.  They 
have  very  long  snouts  and  are  geometrically  inclined. 

lis  ont  cette  addresse  de  foiiir  &  renverser  la. terre  en  lignes 
droites,  avec  autant  &  plus  d'artifice  que  ne  font  nos  meilleurs 
laboureurs; . . .  ils  n'ont  besoin  d'aucun  conducteur  pour  com- 
mencer,  continuer,  &  finir  leurs  rales  (p.  181). 

The  unfortunate  part  of  all  this  is  that  they  can  only 
be  used  a  few  days  a  year.  The  rest  of  the  time  they 
must  be  carefully  shut  in  to  keep  them  from  ploughing 
up  the  entire  district.  Another  curious  animal  is  a 
camel  with  a  sack  hanging  in  his  back  instead  of  a  hump 
protruding  from  it. 

L'^chine  de  leur  dos  est  enf  onc^e  par  tout,  &  les  c6tes  qui  s'^levent 
au  dessus  font  une  espece  de  coeur,  dont  la  pointe  est  en  has,  & 
on  couche  facilement  deux  hommes  dans  le  creux  de  dessus. 
On  les  nomme  Fuefs  (p.  182). 

There  are  also  birds  called  Effs  which  sing  sweetly, 
follow  the  natives  about,  and  cry  to  give  warning  to  their 
masters  of  the  approach  of  the  winged  enemies  of  the 
Australians. 

These  creatures,  called  urgs,  make  war  on  the  Aus- 
tralians a  large  part  of  the  year.     They  are : 


76  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

de  la  grosseur  de  nos  Boeufs, . .  .  avec  un  bee  d'un  grand  pied, 
plus  dur  &  plus  affile  que  I'acier  aiguis^.  lis  ont . . .  deux  grandes 
oreilles,  de  plumes  rousses  &  blanches, . . .  un  corps  long  de 
douze  pieds,  &  large  de  quatre,  avec  une  queue  de  plumes 
grandes  . . .  des  pattes  . . .  finissantes  en  cinq  effroyables  serres 
capables  d'enlever  facilement  un  poids  de  trois  cens  livres. 

There  follows  a  chapter  describing  the  wars  of  the 
AustraUans  with  their  uncivilized  neighbors.  Another 
recommends  the  importation  to  Europe  of  some  of  the 
useful  beasts  of  the  "agricultural  swine"  type.  After 
these  realistic  and  prosaic  chapters,  comes  a  prolonged 
description  of  the  constant  state  of  war  between  the 
Australians  and  their  winged  enemies  the  Urgs.  It  is 
indeed  well  that  there  has  already  been  given  the  de- 
scription of  the  uneventful  life  of  these  almost  perfect 
people,  whose  even  hves  are  divided  between  the  medita- 
tions of  the  Hab,  the  arguments  of  the  Heb,  and  the  de- 
hghtful  flower-gardens  and  athletic  pastimes.  In  the 
latter  part  of  the  book,  what  with  the  ghastly  war  of  the 
Fondins  (the  savage  neighbor  nation)  and  the  continual 
attacks  of  the  Urgs,  there  is  Uttle  time  for  meditation  and 
none  for  the  cultivation  of  the  gardens,  one  would  think. 

This  is  indeed  reminiscent  of  the  abrupt  changes  of  the 
accounts  of  real  voyages.  With  astonishing  lack  of  feel- 
ing for  the  effect  of  the  whole,  Foigny  leaves  the  placid 
and  meditative  Ufe  behind,  and  plunges  his  hero  Sadeur 
once  more  into  the  turmoil  of  an  extraordinary  and 
peripatetic  Ufe  of  adventure. 

Before  leaving  the  ideal  Australia  and  replacing  it  by 
the  parlous  Australia  of  battles  with  Fondins  and  Urgs, 
should  come  the  consideration  of  Foigny's  indebtedness 
to  previous  accounts  of  discovery  in  Australia.  In  the 
India  Orientalis  of  De  Bry  previously  cited  with  refer- 
ence to  Sadeur  in  the  Congo  there  is  a  Latin  version 
of  the  Petition  of  de  Quir.     Part  of  the  title  of  this 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  77 

work  reads:  in  causa  detectionis  quintae  Orbis  terrarum 
partis,  Terrae  nempe  Australis  incognitae^"^ 

Inasmuch  as  the  Grands  Voyages  and  Petits  Voyages 
of  De  Bry  were  pubUshed  in  Frankfort,  and  for  a  period 
covering  many  years,  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  Foigny 
knew  of  them.  Also,  the  fact  that  the  description  of  the 
Congo  stands  with  the  Petition  of  de  Quir  in  the  collected 
India  Orientalis  of  De  Bry  would  lead  us  to  suppose  that 
Foigny  perhaps  knew  of  de  Quir  through  the  medium  of 
this  collection  rather  than  through  the  French  translation. 

This  Petition  is  fairly  well  known.  It  has  been  re- 
ferred to  in  connection  with  the  Au  lecteur  of  the  Terre 
australe.  The  style  of  the  discoverer  is  elevated  and 
enthusiastic.  Australia  is  presented  as  a  land  free  from 
almost  all  the  troubles  existent  elsewhere.  Perhaps  the 
indifference  of  the  King  of  Spain  to  repeated  petitions 
may  be  responsible  for  some  of  the  promises  made  by 
de  Quir  for  the  land  imknown.  In  any  event,  this  eighth 
petition  begins  with  a  lament :  Serenissime  potentissimeqae 
Bex,  Domine  Clementissime,  Ego  Capitaneus  Petrus  Fer- 
nandus  de  Quir,  dico  hunc  esse  odavum  lihellum  suppli- 
cem,  quern  Maiestati  tuae  offero.^ 

Of  the  people  we  read:  *^  Ac  nee  artes  habent,  nee  muros, 
nee  Regem,  nee  legem,  and  of  the  productivity  of  the  soil :  ^ 
Fructus  in  hoc  iractu  guamplurimi  sunt  &  eximie  boni  .  .  . 
magna  est  ibi  porcorum  copia.  This  is  of  course  not  proof 
of  Foigny's  indebtedness  to  de  Quir,  for  fruit  in  large 
quantities  is  the  report  of  all  travelers  in  all  continents, 
and  swine  are  reported  in  many  voyages  to  China  and  the 
Malay  peninsula  as  well  as  those  to  Borneo,  Java,  and 
Sumatra. 

The  insistence  of  Foigny  upon  the  absence  of  insects, 
and  the  similarity  of  his  topography  to  that  of  de  Quir, 

*>  India  Orientalis,  Pars  X,  p.  13.     Francfort,  1613. 

"  Id.,  p.  13.  *»  Id.,  p.  14.  "  Id,,  p.  15. 


78  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

can  leave  little  doubt,  however,  that  Foigny  took  pains 
to  agree  with  the  Petition.  The  fact  that  the  Petition 
was  well  known,  and  that  it  appeared  not  only  in  de  Bry's 
India  Orientalis  but  separately  in  Spanish  and  French, 
made  it  distinctly  to  Foigny's  advantage  to  agree  with  it 
in  some  particulars,  in  order  to  substantiate  his  otherwise 
fantastic  story  of  the  Austral  land.  The  statement  cited 
from  the  Au  lecteur  of  the  Terre  australe  connue  (that 
de  Quir  and  Paes  de  Torres  "ne  particularisent  rien") 
should  be  borne  in  mind.  In  de  Bry's  version  of 
de  Quir's  Petition  occurs:  *^ 

Nulla  nobis  conspecta  sint  sabuleta,  nulli  cardui  spinosaeue 
aut  radicibus  supra  solum  porrectis  arbores,  nullae  prorsus 
lacunae,  nullae  paludes,  nullae  in  montibus  nives  aut  noxii 
vermes,  nulli  in  fluuiis  crocodili,  nullae  domibus  pariter  frugi- 
busque,  detrimentosae  formicae,  erucae,  culices,  &c.  dice  banc 
esse  praerogatiuam  super  omnes  dignitates  . . .  *^ 

In  the  Terre  australe  connue  of  Foigny  occurs  (p.  72): 
ce  grand  Pays  est  plat,  sans  fortts,  sans  marais,  sans  diserts. 
The  even  temperature  has  already  been  referred  to. 
With  reference  to  insects  and  poisonous  creatures,  Sadeur 
says  (p.  77): 

On  n'y  voit  ny  mouches,  ny  chenilles,  ny  aucun  insecte.  lis 
ne  savent  ce  que  c'est  qu'araign^e,  que  serpens,  &  qu'autres 

'^  India  Orientalis,  Pars  X,  p.  17. 

'*  In  Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes  (vol.  xvii,  pp.  228--229)  occurs  the 
following  version  of  this  passage: 

We  have  not  seen  any  barren  and  sandie  ground,  not  any  thistles 
or  trees  that  are  thornie,  or  whose  rootes  doe  shew  themselves,  no 
Marshes  or  Fennes,  no  snow  upon  the  mountains,  no  Snakes  or 
Serpents,  no  crocodiles  in  the  Rivers,  no  Wormes  that  use  with  ua 
to  consume  our  Graine,  and  to  worke  us  so  much  displeasure  in  our 
houses,  no  Fleas,  Caterpillars,  or  Gnats.  This  is  a  Prerogative  that 
hath  the  advantage  of  all  the  priviledges  .  .  .  (that  nature  hath 
bestowed  on  other  places). 


IN  FRENCH   LITERATURE  79 

betes  venimeuses;   en  un  mot  c'est  un  pays  .  . .  qui  est  exempt 
de  toutes  les  incommoditez  qui  nous  environnent. 

Even  this  is   repeated  as  if  by  design  throughout  the 
story,  especially  with  regard  to  insects: 

ce  bon  homme  [Sualns]  n'admira  rien  plus  que  les  moucherons, 

les  poux,  les  puces:  ne  pouvant  comprendre  conunent  de  si 

petites  pieces  joiiissent  de  la  vie  (p.  84). 

les  menues  vermines  que  les  Australiens  ne  peuvent  comprendre 

(p.  179). 

je  dois  mettre  entre  I'un  des  premiers  bonheurs  des  Australiens, 

qu'ils  sont  si  universellement  exemts  de  tous  ces  insectes  (again 

p.  179) .« 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Sadeur  denies  the  existence 
of  crocodiles  in  the  Congo,  and  ridicules  previous  reports 
that  there  were  crocodiles  there.  De  Quir  states  that 
there  are  no  crocodiles  in  the  rivers  of  Australia.  It  is 
barely  possible  that  Foigny's  ideas  of  geography  were 
vague  enough  for  him  to  take  the  statement  regarding 

"  M.  Gunther,  in  Entstehungsgeschichte  von  Defoe's  Robinson 
Crusoe,  Greifswald,  1909,  p.  39,  quotes  "Ruge"  as  saying  that  Foigny 
is  indebted  to  Gonneville's  discovery  of  Australia.  Herr  Gunther 
does  not  quote  work  of  Ruge,  or  page.  Assvuning  that  "Ruge" 
means  Dr.  Sophus  Ruge,  author  of  Entdeckungsgeschichte  der  neuen 
Welt  (in  Hamburgische  Festschrift  zur  Erinnerung  an  die  Entdeckung 
Amerika's,  Band  I,  Hamburg,  1892)  and  other  works,  it  is  strange 
that  this  learned  person  should  see  resemblances  between  the  ac- 
coimts  of  Gonneville  and  Foigny.  Aside  from  the  misfortunes  of 
the  return  journey  just  before  reaching  port,  there  is  little  similarity. 
Even  this  similarity  is  much  stronger  between  the  Histoire  des 
Sevarambes  and  Gonneville's  accoimt  than  between  Gonneville  and 
Foigny.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  Herr  Gunther,  whose  faulty  citations 
have  been  previously  referred  to,  has  misquoted  Dr.  Ruge.  If 
definite  citations  were  given  in  Herr  Giinther's  thesis,  it  would  be 
an  easy  matter  to  verify  this  apparent  error.  That  Foigny  knew 
the  story  of  Gonneville's  travels  has  been  pointed  out  in  resuming 
the  Au  Lecteur  of  the  Terre  australe  connue.  That  he  made  any  use 
of  it  is  to  be  doubted. 


80  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

Australia  as  testimony  regarding  the  Congo.  Without 
raising  this  question  at  all,  it  is  easy  to  account  for  his 
denying  the  existence  of  these  creatures  in  the  Congo 
upon  the  basis  of  his  usual  method  of  substantiating 
statements,  —  the  appeal  "to  the  natives." 

To  return  to  the  adventures  of  Sadeur,  and  the  war 
between  the  Australian  "brothers"  and  the  Fondins, 
Foigny  seems  to  tire  of  the  description  both  of  the  pleasures 
and  dangers  of  Ufe  in  Australia,  for  Chapter  XIII  begins 
abruptly.  J'ecris  ce  qui  suit  de  VIsle  de  Madagascar. 
It  is  therefore  necessary  that  Sadeur  go  back  in  the 
story  of  his  hfe  and  explain  the  manner  of  his  coming 
to  Madagascar.  That  the  abrupt  beginning  of  this 
chapter  arouses  interest  in  the  reader  need  not  be  insisted 
upon.  That  the  atmosphere  of  the  preceding  chapter 
does  not  lead  one  to  expect  a  sudden  departure  must 
have  convinced  more  than  one  guileless  reader  that 
Sadeur  was  a  real  person  —  albeit  a  prevaricator.  This 
sudden  break  in  the  novel  links  this  imaginary  voyage  to 
the  accounts  of  real  voyages  by  the  quaUty  common  to 
both  of  abrupt  and  inartistic  change  of  setting. 

In  going  back  to  explain  his  departm-e,  Sadeur  confesses 
that  the  Australians  are  not  very  easy  people  to  Uve  with. 
There  are  too  many  things  of  which  they  do  not  speak. 
To  excuse  himself,  Sadeur  says, 

comme  la  Nature  ne  se  peut  d^truire,  quelques  precautions  que 
je  prisse,  j'^tois  toAjours  forc6,  malgr^  toutes  mes  diligences, 
de  donner  quelque  marque  de  ce  que  j'6tois-(p.  232). 

The  immediate  cause  for  his  wishing  to  leave  the 
"brothers"  was  his  trial  for  misconduct  in  the  war  against 
the  Fondins,  the  barbaric  neighbors  of  the  Australians. 

Five  charges  were  brought  against  Sadeur.  First,  he 
had  not  fought  as  he  should,  for  he  had  no  ears  to  show 
as  proof  of  his  valor.     (The  custom  of  these  peace-loving 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  81 

Australians  demanded  a  cutting  off  of  ears,  and  an  ex- 
hibition of  them  after  the  battle.)  Second,  Sadeur  had 
shown  pity  on  seeing  the  suffering  of  the  enemy.  Third, 
he  had  embraced  a  Fondine.  (As  the  Fondins  are  Uke 
Europeans,  Sadeur  had  not  sufficient  strength  to  resist 
the  charm  of  the  first  woman  he  had  seen  in  many  years.) 
Fourth,  Sadeur  had  eaten  of  the  food  of  the  Fondins 
(this  after  the  delights  of  the  Australian  fruit  diet!). 
Lastly,  he  had  asked  wicked  questions  (p.  233). 

As  a  result  of  this  trial,  the  "  brothers"  requested  Sadeur 
to  eat  the  fruit  of  the  Balf,  and  quit  this  world  for  good 
and  all.  That  a  man  interested  enough  in  life  to  kiss 
pretty  Fondines  should  look  forward  to  leaving  this  world 
with  pleasure  is  not  to  be  expected.  Thus  Sadeur  made 
his  escape  from  the  community  of  the  over-virtuous 
"brothers"  and  left  them  apparently  without  regret. 

Before  considering  the  manner  of  this  escape,  an  ex- 
amination of  the  abrupt  change  in  the  point  of  view  of 
Sadeur  is  necessary.  These  Australians,  whose  virtues 
have  been  extoUed,  whose  civihzation  has  been  praised 
in  such  glowing  words,  are  now  criticized.  There  is 
but  one  slight  consistency  in  these  two  opposed  points 
of  view.  Sadeur  has  admitted  throughout  the  book 
his  inferiority  to  the  wise  Suains,  and  in  general  to  the 
other  members  of  the  conmiunity.  This  was  necessary 
to  bring  out  the  inferiority  of  Europeans  with  respect 
to  Australians.  In  the  criticism  of  the  AustraUans, 
Sadeur  still  admits  that  he  has  faults  and  that  these 
"brothers"  have  none.  Foigny's  lack  of  art  lies  in  his 
stressing  the  point  of  view  that  these  people  are  so  virtu- 
ous as  to  make  boresome,  nay  dangerous,  companions. 

There  are  two  reasons  why  this  criticism  should  be 
brought  into  the  story.  In  the  first  place,  Sadeur  must 
have  some  adequate  reason  for  leaving  the  delightful 
land.    In  the  second,  no  one  can  take  an  interest,  for 


82  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

long,  in  a  perfect  State.  It  is  not  surprising  that  Foigny, 
when  he  had  dwelt  on  the  superiority  of  the  "brothers" 
for  many  pages,  should  have  been  overcome  with  weari- 
ness. His  love  of  the  extraordinary,  and  his  own  (and 
Sadeur's)  tendency  to  seek  pleasure  in  things  of  the 
flesh  as  well  as  in  those  of  the  spirit,  makes  it  only  natural 
that,  once  the  departure  from  the  ideal  land  is  accom- 
pHshed,  the  reasons  given  for  leaving  should  be  more 
than  adequate.  Foigny  seems  to  overdo  the  explaining 
of  this  departure.  That  it  is  inartistic  in  the  extreme; 
that  it  greatly  impairs  the  plausibility  of  the  argument  in 
the  main  part  of  the  book;  that  it  weakens  the  artistic 
and  philosophical  structure  of  the  story,  is  only  too 
evident. 

If,  as  M.  Chinard  says,^  Foigny  n'a  ahouti,  malgrS 
tous  ses  efforts,  qu'd  nous  presenter  la  peinture  d'uvs  so- 
ci^tS  .  .  .  qui  n'est  avire  chose  gu'un  convent  d'oii  la  re- 
ligion aurait  disparu,  it  is  also  true  that  in  the  chapter 
explaining  Sadeur's  departure  we  have  a  keen  criticism 
of  the  necessary  faults  and  shortcomings  of  such  a  society. 

The  complete  lack  of  unified  plan  in  La  Terre  australe 
connue  precludes  any  attempt  to  generalize  about  the 
purpose  of  the  book.  In  a  story  so  inartistically  put 
together,  it  would  be  unwise  to  say  that  Foigny  had 
drawn  a  picture  of  a  perfect  convent,  only  to  satirize 
it  in  the  chapter  describing  his  hero's  escape.  It  is  wiser 
probably  to  admit  that  the  community  of  the  "brothers" 
resembles  "a  convent  of  philosophers  in  which  there  is 
no  rehgion,"  and  to  point  out  that  Foigny  is  so  little  an 
artist  that  he  refutes  his  own  argument  by  insisting  upon 
the  difference  between  these  passionless  men  and  the 
normal  person,  his  Sadeur.  That  Foigny,  the  man,  had 
known  both  the  pleasures  of  the  contemplative  Ufe  of 
the  cloister,  and  the  imperative  call  of  physical  appetites, 
"  G.  Chinard,  L'Am6rique  et  le  rive  exctique^  p.  205. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  83 

is  reflected  in  his  inartistic  mention  of  both  in  the  same 
book,  and  in  his  defending  first  one,  and  then  the 
other. 

Sadem-  makes  his  escape  from  the  Austral  continent 
by  means  of  one  of  the  strange  birds,  the  Urgs.  Having 
caught  one  in  a  net,  and  having  starved  it  into  submission, 
he  finally  tames  it,  and  teaches  it  to  carry  him  on  its  back. 
He  begs  a  few  more  days  of  grace  of  the  "brothers," 
in  which  to  compose  his  spirit  before  eating  the  death- 
fruit.  Having  made  good  use  of  this  respite,  he  flies 
away  with  the  story  of  his  adventures,  and  a  small  quantity 
of  food.  After  the  bird  has  grown  weary  and  can  no 
longer  bear  him,  Sadeur  floats  on  the  sea  for  some  time 
thanks  to  a  sort  of  "Hfe-preserver"  belt.  He  is  picked 
up,  finally,  in  a  dense  fog,  by  a  French  vessel  returning 
to  Madagascar  from  a  cruise.  If  the  flying  away  is 
fantastic  and  "  medieval,"  the  life-preserver  ani  the 
French  ship  are  distinctly  realistic.  It  may  be  said  in 
passing,  that  to  those  who  know  the  sea,  the  account  of 
Sadeur  being  seen  by  moonlight  and  rescued  from  the 
sea  (in  the  first  part  of  the  story),  and  the  account  of 
his  being  picked  up  in  a  dense  fog  on  the  Indian  Ocean, 
is  as  marvelous  as  anything  in  the  story,  not  excepting 
the  Urgs  and  the  bright  colored  sheep. 

After  eight  days  of  sailing,  Sadeur  lands  at  Tombolo  in 
Madagascar.  He  retails  the  accounts  of  cannibals  and 
their  atrocities  as  told  him  by  the  governor. 

The  passion  of  Foigny  for  simple  languages  comes  to 
the  fore  again.  There  arrives  from  one  of  the  Austral 
islands  un  venerable  Vieillard  &  six  Rameurs  qui  lui 
servoient  aussi  de  Valets  (p  260).  Of  his  conversations 
with  this  old  man,  Sadeur  says  (p.  261) 

Nous  convinmes  par  signes,  de  prendre  certains  mots  pour 
expliquer  nos  pens^es;  &  j'en  formay  en  une  nuit  pr6s  de  deux 
cans,  qu'il  comprit  facilement. 


84  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

The  similarity  of  this  incident  to  the  learning  of  Esperanto 
by  the  direct  method  is  evident.  Among  other  interest- 
ing things  told  by  the  venerable  old  man  (the  second 
character  of  this  type  in  the  story),  is  that  son  peuple 
aymoit  plus  sa  liberty  que  sa  vie  (p.  263). 

There  is  a  farewell  bit  of  the  extraordinary,  when 
Sadeur  goes  to  bid  his  venerable  friend  good-bye,  before 
taking  passage  for  Europe.  The  poor  old  gentleman  is 
heartbroken.  He  calls  in  his  own  language  to  two  of 
his  six  valets.  They  come  and  wring  his  neck,  then  dash 
head-first  at  each  other,  fracture  their  skulls,  and  fall 
dead.  As  if  this  were  not  convincing  evidence  of  the 
sincerity  of  the  old  man's  grief  at  Sadeur's  departure, 
there  follows: 

Les  quatre  autres,  bien  qu'^Ioignez  firent  le  mSme  au  mSme 
terns  que  les  autres:  de  sorte  qu'on  les  trouva  morts  tous  en- 
semble, non  sans  un  tres  grand  6tonnement  du  gouverneur,  & 
de  sa  compagnie  (p.  264)." 

The  final  paragraph  of  the  book  purports  to  have  been 
written  by  the  one  who  took  Sadeur's  notes  after  his 
death.  Part  of  it  reads  (p.  267)  s'etard  embarque  bierUdt 
apres,  il  n'eut  plus  le  loisir  d'icrire  les  avantures  de  son 
retour. 

Thus  ends  the  extraordinary  novel  of  adventure  and 
philosophy  in  Europe,  Africa,  and  Australia.  Its  hero 
escapes  from  four  ship-wrecks,  and  from  sudden  death 
at  the  hands  of  men,  hermaphrodites,  and  many  sorts 
of  strange  beasts  to  bring  to  Europe  the  story  of  a  society 
so  perfect  that  (in  spite  of  occasional  excitement  in  the 

"  This  is  a  clear  reflection  of  many  stories  of  the  East  Indians 
The  wives  and  slaves  of  Hindus  are  reported  by  many  17th  century 
travelers  to  India  to  seek  death  upon  the  demise  of  their  lord  and 
master.  Foigny  has  adapted  this  very  common  report  to  his 
purposes. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  85 

way  of  wars  and  battles  with  strange  monsters)  he  him- 
self tired  of  it.  That  this  first  novel  of  Extraordinary 
Voyage  should  be  closer  to  the  fantastic  novel  of  adventure 
than  the  later  Extraordinary  Voyages  is  only  natural. 
In  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes  of  Vairasse  the  fantastic 
is  almost  entirely  lacking  and  the  adventurous  element 
greatly  reduced.  Foigny's  novel  stands  between  the 
exaggerated  accounts  of  voyages  actually  made  and  the 
more  perfect  form  of  philosophical-social-exotic  novel 
•which  follows. 

4.  Conclusion 

There  are  two  main  features  in  the  Terre  australe 
connue:  First,  the  fantastic  adventure  and  the  interest 
in  exotic  and  extraordinary  things  and  people.  This  is  a 
medium  in  which  is  borne  the  philosophical  and  social 
content.  Second,  the  ideal  commonwealth,  opposed  to 
and  compared  with  the  state  of  society  in  Europe. 

The  basis  of  the  first  part  Ues  in  the  novels  of  ad- 
venturers, of  travelers,  vagabonds  and  buccaneers,  and 
probably  in  the  accounts  of  voyages  of  De  Bry,  and 
the  engravings  illustrating  these  voyages.  Ce  tainly, 
Foigny  knew  the  Petition  of  de  Quir  to  the  King  of  Spain. 

The  basis  of  the  second  part  is  probably  to  be  found 
in  legends  and  stories  of  hermaphroditism,  in  religious 
heresies,  possibly  in  the  ideas  of  Plato.  This  part  is 
developed  by  processes  of  rationalism. 

Foigny  rebels  against  the  current  ideas  of  geography 
(Congo),  against  current  ideas  of  climate  and  the  in- 
fluence of  the  sun's  proximity  on  weather,  against  ac- 
cepted natural  history  in  the  case  of  many  strange  and 
highly  colored  animals.  In  social  matters,  he  rebels 
against  the  dominion  of  man  over  woman,  against  any- 
thing that  limits  a  man's  liberty.  In  rehgious  matters, 
he  rebels  against  revealed  reUgion,  the  authority  of  the 


86  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

Old  Testament,  the  missionary  spirit  of  the  times,  and 
against  the  constant  agitation  of  religious  problems  and 
discussion  of  them. 

Rationalism  is  the  characteristic  of  the  entire  book, 
as  far  as  the  thought  contained  in  it  is  concerned. 

The  effect  of  the  book  as  a  whole  is  broken,  discon- 
nected, and  (but  for  the  fact  that  it  all  concerns  Sadeur) 
almost  incoherent.  This  is  the  result  of  Foigny's  failure 
to  weld  artistically  the  adventurous  and  exotic  elements 
of  the  story  with  the  philosophical  and  social  elements. 
The  fact  that  Foigny  used,  to  substantiate  his  "dis- 
coveries" of  remarkable  springs,  animals  and  plants, 
the  same  rationahstic  methods  which  he  used  to  sub- 
stantiate his  social  and  reUgious  assumptions  serves  in 
one  sense  to  link  the  adventures  with  the  theories.  That 
this  does  not  serve  to  link  them  artistically  is  only  an- 
other way  of  saying  that  the  intensely  logical  mind  is 
seldom  combined  with  the  creative  artistic  mind. 


CHAPTER  V 

L'HISTOIRE  DBS  StlVARAMBES   OF 
DENIS   VAIRASSE   D'ALAIS 


1. 

Publication. 

2. 

Authorship. 

3. 

Life  of  Vairasse. 

4. 

The  Avis  au  lecteur. 

5. 

The  Voyage  to  the  Austral  Land. 

6. 

The  Austral  Civilization. 

7. 

The  Journey  to  Sevarinde. 

8. 

History  of  the  Sevarambian  Kings. 

9. 

Government. 

10. 

Education  and  Marriage. 

11. 

Customs. 

12. 

Laws. 

13. 

Religion. 

14. 

Laws  and  Prayers  of  Sevarias. 

15. 

Language. 

16. 

Omigas  the  Imposter. 

17. 

Digressions. 

18. 

Inventions. 

19. 

The  Retiirn  to  Europe. 

20. 

Conclusion. 

1.   Publication 

In  1677  there  appeared  at  Paris  a  very  important 
novel  of  Extraordinary  Voyage  of  the  17th  Century,  and 
in  many  ways  the  most  remarkable  novel  of  this  type. 
The  History  of  the  Sevarites  or  Sevaramhiy  by  the  same 
author  but  published  in  Enghsh,  had  appeared  at  London 
two  years  ear  her.     The  first  title  in  French  is: 

87 


188  THE   EXTRAORDINARY   VOYAGE 

Histoire  des  S^varambes,  peuples  qui  habitent  une  partie  du 
troisi^me  continent  ordinairement  appel6  Terre  Australe,  con- 
tenant  un  compte  exact  du  gouvemement,  des  moeurs,  de  la 
religion,  et  du  langage  de  cette  nation,  jusques  aujourd'hui 
inconnue  aux  peuples  de  I'Europe.    Trad,  de  I'anglois.* 

Partie  I  appeared  at  Paris  in  1677,  Partie  II,  in  1678  and 
1679. 

The  fact  that  this  remarkable  book  was  reprinted  at 
Brussels  in  1682,  at  Amsterdam  in  the  same  year  and  in 
1702,  and  again  at  Amsterdam  in  1716,  all  these  editions 
being  in  French,  is  ample  proof  of  its  popularity  among 
French  readers  at  the  time  it  appeared.  Translations 
into  Dutch  in  1683,  German  in  1689  and  1714,  and  Italian 
in  1728  are  mentioned  by  Prosper  Marchand.^  Another 
early  German  edition,  without  date,  is  mentioned  by 
Max  Giinther.' 

The  editor  of  the  large  collection,  Bibliotheque  des 
voyages  imaginaires,  says*  that  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes 
tient  un  rang  distingue  parmi  les  voyages  imaginaires. 
That  Bayle  mentions  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes  in  a 
note  to  his  article  Sadeur  *  and  that  Morhof  finds  the 
novel  worthy  of  censure  and  condemnation  in  his  Poly- 
histor  literarius  philosophicus  et  praxAicus  ®  is  also  interest- 

*  Only  the  first  part  of  the  novel  had  appeared  in  EngUsh  at  the 
time.    For  complete  treatment  of  the  English  version  see  Appendix. 

*  Dictionnaire  historique,  Paris,  1758-1759,  Article  Allais. 

*  Entstehungsgeschichte  von  Defoe's  "Robinson  Crusoe",  Greifs- 
wald,  1909,  pp.  41-42. 

*  Amsterdam,  1787-1789,  vol.  5,  Preface. 

*  Dictionnaire  critique,  ed.  1697. 

*  Morhof  attacks  the  author  of  the  Sevarambes,  unknown  to  him, 
as  an  atheist,  but  admits  that  the  book  is  well  constructed,  and  is 
insidious,  being  so  well  written  that  it  is  liable  to  convince  those 
who  are  not  cautious.  Morhof  beUeved  it  to  have  been  written  first 
in  English.    The  Latin  of  this  criticism  reads  in  part; 

Pertinere  &  ad  banc  Atheorura  &  Naturalistarum  tribum  videtur, 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  89 

ing.  According  to  Marchand's  Dictionnaire,  previously 
cited,  the  book  was  attributed  not  only  to  Isaac  Vossius, 
but  to  Leibnitz,  to  an  Englishman  named  Sidney,  to 
Delon,  to  Devese  and  to  many  others.  That  the  Histoire 
des  Sevarambes  attracted  enough  attention  to  be  at- 
tributed to  so  many  authors,  and  some  of  them  so  well 
known,  is  curious  in  the  light  of  later  events.  After  the 
Dictionnaire  of  Marchand  (1758)  and  excepting  La 
France  Protestante  of  Haag,^  no  serious  notice  was  taken 
of  this  book  as  an  important  philosophic  novel,  until 
its  rediscovery  by  M.  Lichtenberger,  published  in  Le 
Sodalisme  au  xviii^  sidcle,  in  1895. 


2.  Authorship 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes 
is  the  work  of  Denis  Vairasse  d'Alais.  The  articles 
mentioned  in  Marchand's  Dictionnaire  and  in  Haag's 
La  France  Protestante  leave  no  doubt  on  this  point.  A 
further  proof,  heretofore  unmentioned,  is  the  signature 
"D.  V."  of  the  To  the  Reader  of  the  EngUsh  version 
(First  Part,  London  1675).  In  Marchand's  Dictionnaire,^ 
occurs  the  following: 

Dependant  lors  que  d'AUais  la  mit  au  jour,  11  cachoit  si  peu 
qu'il  I'eAt  compos6e,  qu'il  ne  faisoit  aucune  difficult^  de  la  donner 
comme  Auteur  k  ses  Amis  &  i  ses  Disciples;  &  personne  n'en 
doutoit  aucunement  alors. 

quisquis  est,  Autor  libri,  qui  primum  Anglic^,  hinc  Gallic^,  postre- 
mum  Belgicd  lingu&  prodiit,  de  populis  terrae  australis  incognitae, 
quos  Severambes  nominat.  .  .  .  Elegantissimd  confictus  est  liber, 
eaque  specie,  ut  prim&  fronte  incautis  imponat.  .  .  ,  Ceterum  ille 
liber  doctus  est,  m&gak  cur&  scriptus.  {Polyhistor,  De  libris  damnatis. 
Cap.  viii,  p.  74.    Ed.  Lubeck,  1714.) 

^  Paris,  1859,  t.  x,  p.  458,  Article  Veirasse. 

8  p.  12,  Note  B. 


90  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

The  title  quoted  by  the  Journa  des  Sgavans  ^  includes 
the  words  chez  I'Auteur,  which  would  prove  that  Denis 
Vairasse  (known  at  this  time  as  Allais  or  d'Alais)  did  not 
conceal  his  authorship  of  the  novel  at  the  time  it  first 
appeared.^" 

3.   Life  of  Vairasse 

The  date  of  Vairasse's  birth  is  not  known.  Marchand 
says  of  him  that  at  sixteen,  he  took  part  in  the  Piedmont 
campaign.  After  leaving  the  army,  Vairasse  took  up 
the  study  of  law,  and  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Law  some  few  years  later.  He  did  not  remain  long  in 
France  however.  Having  gone  to  England,  he  became 
involved  in  poHtical  intrigue  there,  and  was  banished 
from  the  country  and  returned  to  France.  The  year 
1672  finds  him  in  the  French  Army  in  the  Flanders 
campaign,  although  he  was  a  Protestant.  Unable  to 
obtain  advancement  because  of  his  faith,  or  perhaps  dis- 
gusted with  military  life,  Vairasse  returned  to  Paris  and 
gave  private  lessons  in  English  and  in  French.  During 
the  winters  he  was  accustomed  to  give  lectures  on  history 
and  on  geography.  His  gift  of  speech  and  keen  intellect 
attracted  to  these  lectures  many  people,  some  of  them  of 
high  standing.  He  had  many  friends  among  the  Jan- 
senists  in  Paris,  according  to  Marchand,  although  he  is 
not  known  to  have  renounced  his  beUef  in  Protestantism, 
even  after  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes. 

It  is  Ukely  that  Denis  Vairasse  used  the  name  d'Alais 
because  he  came  from  the  Protestant  stronghold  Alais, 
chiefly  remembered  to-day  by  Richelieu's  Edit  de  grdce 
of  1629.  Marchand  says  that  he  is  reported  by  some  to 
have  been  related  to  the  Baron  d'AUais,  autrefois  Comr- 

»  Year  1678,  p.  87. 

*"  L.  Moreri,  Grand  Dictionnaire  historique  (ed.  1732)  shows 
knowledge  of  the  author  "Denys  Vakas"  in  Article  Sevarambes. 


IN   FRENCH   LITERATURE  91 

mandant  des  Armies  du  Roi,  but  that  there  is  no  proof 
of  this  report.  Of  Denis  Vairasse's  personal  appearance, 
little  is  known.    Marchand  says, 

sa  taille  n'^toit  pas  des  plus  r^guli^res  &  son  visage  avoit  quel- 
que  chose  de  fort  particulier  . . .  il  parloit  tr^s  agr^ablement. 

Besides  the  Histaire  des  Sevarambes,  Vairasse  published 
two  other  books,  both  grammatical  works.  One,  a  Gram- 
maire  methodique  .  .  .  de  la  langue  frangoise,  Paris, 
1682 "  is  reviewed  in  very  flattering  fashion  by  the 
Journal  des  Sgavans,^^  being  characterized  as  the  first 
complete  treatise  on  the  subject.  Classification  of  sounds 
according  to  phonetic  groups,  and  methodical  arrange- 
ment are  characteristics  of  the  book.  The  other,  A  short 
and  methodical  irvtrodudion  to  the  French  tongue,  Paris, 
1683,  is  the  same  work  translated  into  Enghsh  for  the 
use  of  EngUsh-speaking  people  in  learning  French. 

It  will  be  found  that  the  campaigns  of  Vairasse,  his 
travels,  his  interest  in  geography,  and  his  studies  in 
grammar  and  in  law,  are  all  reflected  in  the  Histoire 
des  Sevarambes.  The  philosophic  and  reUgious  opinions 
of  Vairasse,  not  recorded  by  his  biographers,  form  the 
chief  interest  of  his  imaginary  voyage  written  as  a  me- 
dium wherein  to  convey  these  ideas. 

The  date  of  the  death  of  Denis  Vairasse  is  not  known. 

4.  The  Avis  au  Lecteur.     (Histoire  des 

SfiVARAMBES) 

Perhaps  the  most  interesting  testimony  in  the  Article 
Allais  of  Marchand's  Didionnaire  is  that  relating  to  the 
reception  given  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes  at  the  time 
it  was  pubUshed,     He  points  out  that  this  novel  was 

"  For  complete  title,  see  Bibliography. 
«  Year  1682,  pp.  130-131. 


92  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

generally  accepted  as  a  true  story,  or  rather  as  a  true 
story  elaborated  by  an  ingenious  editor.  The  testimony 
of  Morhof  as  to  the  plausibility  of  the  story  has  already 
been  cited.  The  review  of  the  Second  Part  of  the  Histoire 
des  Sevarambes,  which  appeared  in  the  Journal  des 
Sgavans  in  1678  is  amusing  inasmuch  as  it  takes  the 
middle  ground,  and  hesitates  to  label  the  novel  either 
as  an  account  of  a  real  voyage,  or  as  a  work  of  imagination. 
According  to  this  review :  " 

Les  uns  Tont  regard^  comme  une  belle  id6e,  &  les  autres  ont 
cru  de  bonne  foy  tout  ce  qui  y  est  rapports  sur  la  d^couverte 
des  Sevarambes,  d'autant  plus  que  suivant  le  t^moignage  de 
plusieurs  personnes  dignes  de  foy,  tout  ce  qu'on  y  lit  d'lm 
Navire  de  HoUande  . . .  qui  sert  de  fondement  k  tout  le  reste 
se  trouve  veritable.  Quoyqu'il  en  soit,  le  dessein  de  cette 
Histoire  n'est  pas  mal  conceu  (p.  87). 

Ceux  qui  envisagent  cette  Histoire  comme  veritable,  y  trou- 
veront  la  description  . . .  etc.  (p.  89). 

Notwithstanding  the  somewhat  over-perfect  land  of  the 
Sivarambes,  there  is  in  the  first  part  of  the  novel  such  a 
wealth  of  material  detail  and  circumstantial  evidence 
that  belief  is  almost  compelled.  The  burden  of  "proof" 
that  this  is  a  real  and  not  an  imaginary  voyage  is  borne 
by  the  Avis  au  lecteur.  To  prove  the  authenticity  of 
the  story  Vairasse  uses  a  method  that  is  at  once  subtle 
and  convincing." 

"  Year  1678. 

"  In  some  later  editions,  the  Avis  au  lecteur  has  been  considerably 
cut  down,  and  the  strength  of  the  argument  for  authenticity  of  the 
story  greatly  weakened.  References  in  the  present  study  are  to 
the  edition  of  Etienne  Roger,  Amsterdam,  1702,  which  is  complete 
and  quite  commonly  found.  The  edition  given  in  the  Bibliothique 
des  voyages  imaginaires,  Amsterdam,  1787,  cited  by  MM.  Lichten- 
berger  and  Chinard,  is  very  much  reduced  in  volume.  For  complete 
titles  of  editions  see  Bibliography. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  93 

The  Au  lecteur  begins  with  a  careful  distinction  between 
real  voyages  such  as  the  story  which  is  to  follow,  and 
imaginative  works  of  the  type  of  the  Republic  of  Plato, 
the  Utopia  of  More,  and  the  Nova  Atlantis  of  Bacon. 
The  editor  hopes  that  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes  will 
not  be  confused  with  such  books. 

A  second  realistic  method  is  that  of  lamenting,  after 
the  fashion  so  much  in  vogue  among  explorers  of  the 
time:  II  seroit  a  souhaiter  qa'une  heureuse  paix  donndt  aux 
princes  le  loisir  de  s'occuper  de  pareilles  decouvertes  {Au 
lecteur,  p.  3). 

The  fact  that  Columbus  did  not  gain  belief  in  his  theory 
of  land  to  the  West  until  he  had  tried  his  experiment  is 
recalled  to  the  reader.  Then,  banking  on  the  force  of 
his  own  convincing  style,  the  editor  (really  Vairasse  the 
author)  says  of  the  story  which  is  to  follow,  EUe  est 
ecrite  d'une  maniere  si  simple  que  personne,  a  ce  que 
j'espere,  ne  doviera  de  la  verite  de  ce  gu'elle  contient 
(p.  5). 

Next  comes  the  history  of  the  pubUcation  of  the  story. 
Captain  Siden,  whose  personal  experiences  in  AustraUa 
and  elsewhere  constitute  the  novel,  died  as  the  result  of 
wounds  received  just  before  reaching  Holland  after  a 
protracted  absence.^^  Before  dying,  Captain  Siden  turned 
over  the  memoirs  of  his  adventurous  life  to  a  traveling 
companion.  This  latter,  unable  to  read  the  memoirs, 
which  had  been  written  in  several  languages,  including 
French,  Provengal  and  ItaUan,  turned  them  over  to  the 
writer  of  the  Avis  au  lecteur. 

Witnesses  are  plenty  to  assure  the  author  of  the  Avis 
au  lecteur  that  Captain  Siden  did,  about  the  date  stated 
in  his  memoirs,  leave  the  River  Texel  on  a  vessel  named 

"  See  note  53,  Chapter  IV.  Similarity  to  the  story  of  Capt. 
Gonneville,  attacked  when  ahnost  in  port  after  his  journey  to 
Brazil  (1503-1504),  is  evident. 


94  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

the  Dragon  d'or,  loaded  for  Batavia,  and  that  no  word 
was  heard  of  him  in  Holland  thereafter.  The  author 
of  the  Au  lecteur  ascertains  from  the  Counsel  of  the 
Dutch  East  India  Company  that  the  vessel  was  wrecked; 
that  a  pinnace,  manned  by  some  of  the  survivors,  did 
reach  Batavia,  and  that  an  unsuccessful  attempt  was 
made  to  go  to  the  rescue  of  the  unfortunates  who  had 
been  left  stranded  on  the  coast  of  AustraUa.  A  long 
letter  from  a  man  named  Skinner  is  reproduced  verbatim 
to  prove  that  the  pinnace  contained  a  certain  sailor  named 
Prince.  Other  testimony  is  adduced,  names,  dates  and 
places  being  cited. 

Naturally,  when  the  story  of  Captain  Siden's  ship- 
wreck comes,  in  the  body  of  the  book,  the  name  of  the 
sailor.  Prince,  is  mentioned,  and  the  guileless  reader  is 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  whole  story.  This  became 
a  hackneyed  method  of  substantiating  desert  island 
stories  in  the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  centuries.  In 
1675,  when  this  novel  of  Vairasse  was  published  in  England, 
and  in  1677,  when  it  was  first  pubhshed  in  French,  this 
method  of  substantiating  novels  of  adventure  was  dis- 
tinctly new.  It  was  as  new  as  the  story  of  the  palisaded 
camp  on  a  deserted  coast,  which  will  be  found  in  this 
story  but  which  is  generally  associated  with  the  Robinson 
Crusoe  of  forty  years  later. 

5.  The  Voyage  to  the  Austral  Land 

The  first  chapter  of  Captain  Siden's  life  begins  with 
an  account  of  his  youth.  Except  for  reading  accounts 
of  voyages,  he  has  Uttle  in  the  way  of  adventure  in  his 
life  until  he  is  fifteen!  At  this  age,  he  goes  to  Italy  in 
the  Army,  and  later  to  Catalonia.  After  giving  up 
"l'6p6e  pour  la  robe,"  he  studies  law,  and  in  four  or  five 
years  is  a  Doctor  in  Law.    His  mother's  death  leaves 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  95 

him  free  to  travel  soon  afterwards,  and  he  visits  most 
of  Europe." 

In  April  1655  he  embarks  for  the  East  Indies  on  a 
vessel  named  the  Dragon  d'or,  in  company  with  a  young 
man  named  Van-de-Nuits.  Until  after  passing  the 
equator  the  story  is  very  brief. 

II  est  vrai  que  nous  vlmes  plusieurs  monstres  Marins,  des 
poissons  volans,  de  nouvelles  constellations,  &  d'autres  choses 
de  cette  nature.  Mais  parce  qu'elles  sont  ordinaires  &  qu'ellea 
ont  6t6  d^crites,  &  que  depuis  plusieurs  ann^es  elles  ont  perdu 
la  grace  de  la  nouveaut^,  je  ne  crois  pas  en  devoir  parler,  ne 
voulant . . .  lasser  la  patience  du  Lecteur  &  la  mienne  (pp.  25-26) . 

This  is  very  different  from  the  method  of  Foigny, 
whose  account  fairly  bristles  with  novelties  difficult  of 
beUef.  It  is,  however,  curiously  hke  an  account  of  a  real 
voyage  from  which  it  can  be  shown  Vairasse  took  entire 
the  sea-voyage,  shipwreck,  and  some  later  incidents  of 
the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes.  In  La  Terre  Australe 
descouverte  par  le  Capitaine  Pelsart,  qui  y  fait  naufrage  ^^ 
occurs  the  following  sentence,  which  is  interesting  in 
the  hght  of  much  more  definite  similarities  in  the  later 
parts  of  the  two  stories: 

le  passeray  sous  silence  le  loumal  de  sa  Nauigation  jusqu'au 
Cap  de  Bonne  Esperance,  ae  peur  d'ennuyer  le  Lecteur  par  le 
recit  d'vne  chose  aussi  connue  que  Test  cette  route. 

In  both  accounts,  the  vessel  leaves  the  Texel,  bound  for 
Batavia.  In  both  accounts  the  vessel  runs  through  fog 
after  passing  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.     In  both  accounts 

"  This  is  a  reflection  of  the  life  of  Vairasse,  who  had  much  the 
same  experience. 

"  Relations  de  divers  voyages  curieux,  qui  n'ont  pas  esU  pubises, 
par  les  soins  de  Melchisedec  Thevenot,  Paris,  1663-1672.  Vol.  1, 
Premiere  Partie.  This  collection  was  published  in  a  second  edition 
in  1696,  Paris,  chez  Thomas  Moette. 


96  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

there  is  a  storm,  and  after  the  storm  a  cahn.  During 
this  comparatively  good  weather,  the  vessel  in  each 
story  strikes  a  reef,  from  which  it  is  impossible  to  move  it. 
In  both  cases  there  are  low  and  sandy  islands  near  at 
hand,  and  in  both  a  long  and  ineffectual  attempt  is  made 
to  find  fresh  water.  Holes  are  dug,  but  only  brackish 
water  is  obtained  In  both  cases,  the  master  of  the  ship 
is  one  of  those  who  attempt  to  reach  Batavia  in  a  hastily 
constructed  pinnace,  made  from  the  wreck. 

Naturally,  when  the  men  are  selected  to  man  the 
pinnace,  Vairasse's  story  mentions  the  sailor  Prince, 
previously  referred  to  in  discussing  the  Au  ledeur.  In 
the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes  (p.  37)  Le  sort  tomba  sur  le 
Maitre  mime,  sur  un  matelot  appelle  Prince,  &  sur  six 
autres,  dont  fay  ouhlie  les  noms.  In  Pelsart's  story,  from 
which  Vairasse  took  his  reahstic  introduction  to  the 
land  of  Sevarias,  there  is  no  mention  of  a  sailor  named 
Prince. 

In  Vairasse's  novel.  Captain  Siden  is  elected  General 
of  those  remaining  on  the  coast,  by  a  unanimous  vote. 
He  apportions  the  labor  to  be  done,  the  guards  to  be  set, 
the  provisions  to  be  made,  and  sets  off  with  thirty  others 
to  hunt  for  water,  after  leaving  the  women  in  a  stockade. 
Finding  a  stream  flowing  into  the  ocean,  he  moves  his 
company  there,  founds  a  permanent  camp,  divides  the 
labor  of  hunting,  fishing,  and  guard  duty  anew,  plants 
peas,  and  sets  up  a  permanent  colony.  At  about  this 
time,  some  of  the  hunters  find  and  kill  a  tiger.  Frightened 
at  the  presence  of  wild  animals  in  the  region,  Captain 
Siden  has  a  complete  and  permanent  stockade  of  logs 
built  about  the  camp  (p.  62).^* 

All  exploring  expeditions  having  failed  to  discover  any 
inhabitants,  the  company  settles  down  to  wait  for  relief 
from  Batavia.  There  is  an  incident  of  two  young  men 
"  The  similarity  to  Defoe's  story  is  evident. 


IN    FRENCH   LITERATURE  97 

of  the  company  coming  to  blows  over  the  favors  of  one 
of  the  seventy-odd  women  who  were  part  of  the  ship's 
passengers.  The  woman  in  question  and  a  young  man 
are  wounded  by  a  sword-thrust.  This  brings  about  a 
decision  on  the  part  of  Captain  Siden,  who  governs  the 
company  with  an  iron  hand.     He  says  (p.  68): 

Cet  accident  donna  lieu  k  de  nouvelles  Loix;  nous  con- 
siderames  que  tant  que  nous  aurions  des  femmes  parmy  nous, 
elles  seroient  cause  de  quelques  troubles,  si  nous  n'y  mettions 
ordre  de  bonne  heure,  &  ne  permittions  a  nos  hommes  de  s'en 
servir  d'une  maniere  regime.  Mais  le  mal  6toit  que  n'ayant 
que  soixante  &  quatorze  Femmes,  &  ^tant  plus  de  trois  cens 
hommes,  il  n'^toit  pas  possible  de  donner  une  Femme  k  chacun. 
Nous  consultames  longtemps  pour  trouver  un  expedient  raison- 
nable;  enfin  il  fut  resolu,  que  cbaque  principal  Officier  auroit 
une  Femme  pour  lui,  &  que  chacun  d'eux  en  choisiroit  une 
selon  son  rang.  Nous  distribuames  les  autres  en  diverses  classes 
selon  le  rang  des  personnes. 

The  more  exphcit  part  of  the  rules  laid  down  by  Captain 
Siden  can  well  be  spared  in  this  short  simimary.  The 
author's  opinion  of  the  wisdom  of  this  division  of  women, 
he  supports  with  the  following  incident  (p.  69): 

Nous  separames  du  reste  les  hommes  qui  avoient  pass6 
cinquante  ans,  &  quatre  Femmes  qui  alloient  trouver  leurs 
maris  k  Batavia,  &  qui  se  piquerent  de  Constance . . .  Mais 
quand  elles  eurent  vu  que  . . .  le  secours  qu'on  attendoit  de 
Batavia  ne  venoit  pas,  elles  parurent . . .  melancoliques,  &  se 
repentirent . . .  nous  fiunes  obligez  de  leur  donner  des  maris 
comme  aux  autres. 

The  conclusion  of  this  incident  is  interesting,  as  it  shows 
the  philosophic-exotic  interest  of  Vairasse  in  the  question 
(p.  69). 

Aussi  la  Poligamie  des  femmes  a  4t6  souvent  pratiqu^e,  & 
elle  Test  encore  aujourd'huy  parmy  quelques  Nations:  mais 


98  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

je  n'ay  pas  encore  lA  que  celle  de  plusieurs  maris  ait  jamais 
6t6  en  usage. 

There  is  conclusive  enough  evidence,  however,  that 
Vairasse  had  read  of  it  being  practiced,  for  the  following 
account  of  the  actions  of  one  "lerosme  CorneUs  "  occurs 
in  the  story  of  Pelsart  previously  referred  to: 

II  devoit  commander  en  I'absence  de  Pelsart,  &  cnit .  .  . 
qu'il  luy  seroit  ais6  de  se  rendre  maistre  de  ce  qui  estoit  rest6 
du  debris . . .  se  choisit  des  gardes  qu'il  fit  habiller  d'^carlatte 
...  &  comme  si  les  femmes  eussent  est4  vne  partie  du  butin, 
en  prend  vne  pour  luy,  donna  vne  des  fiUes  du  Ministre  k  vn 
des  principaux  de  sa  trouppe,  &  abandonna  k  I'usage  public 
les  trois  autres;  il  fit  mesme  quelques  Reglemens  povu*  la  maniere 
dont  elles  deuoient  servir. 

Apres  ces  horribles  executions,  il  se  fait  61ire  Capitaine  general 
par  vn  acta  qu'il  fit  signer  k  tous  ceux  de  son  party. 

In  the  story  according  to  Pelsart,  there  is  a  just  retri- 
bution for  the  crimes  of  CorneUs.  Help  is  obtained  at 
Batavia.  The  doughty  Pelsart  returns  on  a  Dutch 
cruiser  and  finds  the  colony.  The  end  of  Cornelis  and 
his  accompUces  is  described  in  a  sentence  which  is  an 
admirable  example  of  the  pithy  and  succinct  style  of  the 
accounts  of  real  voyages: 

Le  vingt-huiti^me, ...  la  plurality  des  voix  alia  k  les  juger  & 
faire  executer  sur  le  lieu,  ce  qu'ils  firent. 

The  incorrigible  Captain  Siden,  on  the  contrary,  sums 
up  the  evidence  of  the  case  in  a  physiological  conclu- 
sion that  is  strikingly  modem    (p.  69): 

L'experience  nous  fit  voir  en  cette  rencontre  que  la  plurality 
des  hommes  est  contraire  k  la  g^n^ration,  car  peu  de  celles  qui 
avoient  plusieurs  maris  devinrent  grosses;  &  au  contraire, 
presque  toutes  celles  qui  n'en  avoient  qu'un,  le  furent. 


IN   FRENCH   LITERATURE  99 

Since  the  copying  of  detail  and  incident  is  so  marked 
in  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes,  it  is  interesting  to  note  a 
further  similarity  of  names  of  characters  between  the  two 
stories.  In  Vairasse's  novel,  one  man  whose  name 
appears  frequently  in  the  first  part  of  the  story  is  "de 
Haes."  DeHaes  goes  exploring  and  returns  telhng  of 
his  journey  (pp.  45,  53,  55).  He  says  on  his  return  qu'il 
avoit  mar  die  vingt  milles  le  premier  jour  (p.  55).  In  the 
Pelsart  story  is  a  man  named  Vveybe-Hays  who  went 
looking  for  water  on  the  mainland,  and  found  it  after 
hunting  for  twenty  days,  instead  of  walking  twenty  miles. 

In  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes,  the  close  personal  friend 
of  Captain  Siden,  with  whom  he  sails  from  Holland  and 
who  is  with  him  throughout  the  Australian  part  of  the 
story,  is  named  Van-de-Nuits.  On  an  old  map,  bound 
with  the  Relation  of  Pelsart  in  Th^venot's  collection,  is 
the  inscription: 

Landt  van  P.  Nuyts;  opgedaan  met  het  gulden  zeepardt 
van  Middelburgh  16  Jan.  Anno  1627. 

That  "van"  is  a  preposition,  and  not  part  of  the  name 
"P.  Nuyts"  makes  Httle  difference. 

Naturally,  if  there  were  nothing  to  indicate  the  imi- 
tation of  Pelsart's  account  except  these  names,  it  would 
be  futile  to  mention  them."  Having  established,  however, 
indebtedness  of  Vairasse  to  this  account  of  a  real  voyage, 
the  similarity  of  names  is  interesting.^' 

It  may  be  remarked  in  passing  that  Captain  "Siden" 
is  merely  "Denis"  in  an  anagram  as  "Sevarias"  the 
great  law-giver  of  the  Sevarambian  civilization  which 
follows  is  "Vairasse"  transposed.^" 

"  The  indebtedness  of  Vairasse  to  Th^venot's  collection  has  not 
been  mentioned  previously. 

*"  M.  Lanson  has  pointed  out  these  two  anagrams,  Revue  des 
C<mrs  et  Con/.,  1908-1909. 


100  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

6.  The  Austral  Civilization 

When  there  is  no  further  interest  in  the  colony  of 
shipwrecked  people,  which  is  functioning  admirably  under 
the  regulations  of  Captain  Siden,  the  natives  of  AustraUa 
are  introduced.  Having  gone  on  an  exploring  expedition 
far  into  the  interior,  some  of  the  shipwrecked  company 
return  to  the  stockaded  camp,  accompanied  by  representa- 
tives of  the  AustraUan  government.  Concerning  a  courte- 
ous, not  to  say  worldly  representative  of  the  AustraUans, 
one  is  astonished  to  read  (p.  78) : 

II  nous  receut  avec  beaucoup  de  douceur  &  de  gravity,  & 
levant  la  main  droits  vers  le  Ciel;  il  nous  dit  en  assez  bon  Hol- 
landois:  Le  Dieu  Eternel  vous  benisse,  le  Soldi  son  grand  Ministre 
&  noire  Roi  glorieux  luise  doucement  sur  vous,  &  cette  Terre  nStre 
Patrie  vous  soil  heureu^e  &  fortunee. 

If  the  natives  of  Bacon's  New  Atlantis  greeted  strangers 
in  Spanish,  the  Australians  of  Vairasse,  not  to  be  outdone, 
are  proficient  in  Dutch.  They  do  not  explain  their 
proficiency  in  European  languages  imtil  much  later  in 
the  story.  After  inspecting  the  camp,  the  noble  stranger 
retires  to  a  tent,  leaving  one  of  Siden's  men,  Maurice, 
to  recount  what  has  happened,  and  how  he  came  to  find 
the  Austrahans.  The  story  of  his  cordial  reception 
among  the  Austrahans  is  cheerful  news  to  the  little 
colony.  It  appears  that  Maurice  and  his  companions, 
having  followed  a  river  some  miles  inland,  came  upon 
some  men,  in  boats.  These  natives  conducted  them  to 
a  good  sized  city,  where  they  were  well  received,  given 
new  clothes,  bathed,  and  led  before  the  local  governor 
and  his  guard  of  soldiers,  who  had  muskets  and  blue 
imiforms.  The  shipwrecked  men  were  provided  with 
every  necessity  and  comfort,  including  female  slaves. 

There  are  two  significant  parts  of  this  report  of  the 
explorer  Maurice  to  Captain  Siden.    The  rest  is  merely 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  101 

a  long  description  of  rather  commonplace  things  such  as 
costumes,  receptions,  and  the  topography  of  the  country. 
The  first  of  these  important  ideas  is  stated  in  the  follow- 
ing terms  (p.  94) : 

Ces  peuples  font  ordinairement  de  bonne  garde  sur  leurs 
fronti^res  parcequ'ils  craignent  que  les  strangers  ne  viennent 
corrompre,  par  leur  mauvais  example,  leur  innocence  &  leur 
tranquillity,  en  introduisant  leurs  vices  parmi  eux. 

That  this  recalls  the  precautions  of  the  Nova  Atlantis 
when  Bacon's  travelers  are  received,  is  obvious.  It 
likewise  recalls  the  hostility  of  Foigny's  Australians  to 
the  degenerating  influence  of  the  demi-hommes  from 
Europe.  There  is  an  extension  of  this  idea  in  the  His- 
toire  des  Sevarambes,  however.  It  is  the  people  of  Spo- 
rounde,  an  outlying  province,  that  the  explorers  from 
Europe  have  come  upon.  Of  the  people  of  Sevarinde 
itself,  the  ideal  province  of  the  ideal  land,  the  Europeans 
have  no  experience  imtil  later.  In  Sevarinde  no  imperfect 
people  are  tolerated,  for  (pp.  95-96) 

ceux  de  Sevarinde  y  envoient  [^  Sporounde]  tons  les  gens  contre- 
faits  qui  naissent  parmy  eux,  n'en  voulant  point  souffrir  de 
semblables  dans  leur  Ville. 

Whereas  the  Australians  of  Sadeur  kiUed  at  birth  any 
one-sex  monsters,  the  more  hmnane  Sevarambians  banish 
all  the  halt,  lame,  and  bhnd  to  Sporounde.^^  The  simi- 
larity of  this  procedure  with  that  advocated  by  earUer 
writers  on  eugenics  is  another  proof  of  the  sources  of 
Vairasse.'"'    This  is  (as  in  the  case  of  polyandry  among 

*^  In  the  English  version  of  1675,  deformity  of  body  is  an  in- 
evitable accompaniment  of  moral  obliquity.  The  people  of  Sp>o- 
rounde  are  all  twisted  in  body  because  they  are  imperfect  morally. 
(For  more  full  treatment  of  English  version,  see  Appendix.) 

^  Plato  and  Campanella  had  both  suggested  control  of  society 
for  the  physical  improvement  of  the  race.     Vairasse,  through  his 


102  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

the  shipwrecked  company)  not  only  theory  but  practical 
demonstration. 

The  second  matter  of  importance  in  Maurice's  account 
of  the  exploring  expedition  is  the  Sevarambian  philosophy 
of  temperance,  which  appears  twice  within  a  very  few 
pages.  The  Governor  of  Sporounde,  speaking  to  the 
strangers  he  is  receiving,  ends  his  oration  with  Je  vous 
exhprte  a  la  moderation  &  a  I'honnetete  (p.  95).  The 
guide  Sermodas,  who  speaks  Dutch  and  is  a  person  of 
some  importance,  elaborates  on  this  philosophy  after 
presenting  each  visitor  with  a  female  slave.  The  fact 
that  these  sea-faring  men,  who  have  just  been  presented 
with  female  slaves,  might  have  been  somewhat  inatten- 
tive to  the  discourse  is  not  to  be  thought  of,  for  we 
are  now  in  the  interior  of  the  Ideal  Land,  and  the 
philosophy  of  the  author  is  not  to  be  interfered  with  by 
considerations  of  reaUsm.  The  importance  of  Sermodas* 
speech  in  setting  forth  the  ideas  of  Vairasse  is  such  as 
to  warrant  its  reproduction  here  almost  entire: 

Toutes  les  Nations  du  monde  ont  leurs  coutumes:  II  y  en  a 
qui  sont  naturellement  mauvaises  parcequ'elle  sont  oppos^es  k 
la  raison.  II  y  en  a  d'autres  qui  sont  indiff^rentes,  &  qui  ne 
semblent  bonnes  ou  mauvaises  que  selon  I'opinion  &  le  pr6jug§ 
des  hommes  qui  les  pratiquent;  mais  il  y  en  a  aussi  qui  sont 
fondles  en  raison,  &  qui  sont  v^ritablement  bonnes  d'elles- 
memes,  pourveu  qu'on  les  considere  sans  preoccupation.  Les 
n6tres  sont  presque  toutes  de  ce  dernier  genre,  &  h  peine  en 
avons-nous  aucune  qui  ne  soit  ^tablie  sur  la  raison.  Vous 
n'ignorez  pas  sans  doute  que  I'usage  mod^r^  des  choses  que  la 
Nature  a  destinies  pour  servir  aux  creatures  vivant^s,  ne  soit 
bon  de  soi,  &  qu'il  n'y  a  que  I'abus  qu'on  en  fait  qui  soit  effective- 
ment  mauvais.  Parmy  toutes  ces  choses  il  y  en  a  trois  principales : 
La  premiere  regarde  la  conservation  de  chaque  particulier:  La 

imaginary  but  carefully  authenticated  Captain  Siden,  reports  having 
found  this  theory  put  into  practice  with  good  results.  It  is  the 
realism  of  Vairasse  that  makes  his  novel  dangerous. 


.IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  103 

seconds,  I'entretien  dans  un  6tat  heureux:  Et  la  troisi^me  enfin, 
a  pour  but  I'accroissement  ou  la  multiplication  de  chaque 
esp^ce  (pp.  97-98). 

Further,  those  things  which  the  Sevarambians  con- 
sider as  necessary  for  the  conservation  and  proper  con- 
dition of  men  are: 

la  sant^  du  corps,  la  tranquillity  de  I'esprit,  la  liberty,  la  bonne 
Education,  la  pratique  de  la  vertu,  la  soci^t^  des  honnetes  gens, 
les  bonnes  viandes,  les  vetements,  &  les  maisons  commodes 
(p.  99). 

These  blessings:  rendent  la  vie  heureuse,  pourveu  qu'on 
en  iLse  sobrement,  &  qu^on  n'y  attache  point  son  cceur 
(p.  99). 

For  the  third  consideration,  the  increasing  of  the 
species,  Nature  (not  God,  but  Nature)  has  caused  all 
animals  to  exist  either  as  male  or  female : 

Mais  pour  rendre  I'^tat  de  chaque  animal  encore  plus  heureux, 
&  pour  venir  plus  facilement  a  bout  de  son  dessein,  elle  a  voulu 
attacher  a  cette  union  un  plaisir,  que  nous  appeltons  amour. 
Get  amour  est  le  lien  &  le  conservateiu"  de  toutes  choses,  & 
lorsqu'il  est  r6gl6  par  la  droite  raison,  il  ne  produit  que  de  bons 
effets,  parcequ'il  ne  propose  que  de  bonnes  fins  (p.  100). 

In  quoting  from  the  sentiments  of  Sevaria^  vx)tre  grand 
&  illustre  legislateur,  Sermodas  does  mention  les  desseins 
de  Dieu  &  de  la  Nature,  pour  la  conservation  du  genre 
humainP  In  accordance  with  these  plans  of  God  and 
Nature,  Sevarias  had  marriage  made  compulsory  for  all 
attaining  a  certain  age,  and  cohabitation  with  slaves 
optional  with  travelers. 

That  moderation  and  not  abstinence  is  the  natural 
and  God-willed  path  for  man  to  follow,  is  put  in  the 

®  This  theory  is  as  old  as  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  and  is  found 
again  in  Campanella's  Civitas  Solis. 


104  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

form  of  a  direct  challenge  to  European  ideas.  With 
the  Sevarambians  it  is  forbidden  de  regarder  comme  une 
chose  criminelle  ce  qui  sert  a  la  conservation  de  Vespdce 
(p.  100).  It  is  also  forbidden  que  les  exces  troublent  la 
moderation  qui  doit  se  trouver  dans  Vusage  de  Urns  ces 
plaisirs.  Continuing,  there  follows  (p.  101)  the  challenge 
to  Europe: 

Cast  pour  cette  raison  que  nous  ne  scuff rons  pas  que  personne 
soit  ici  sans  femmes,  vous  voyez  aussi  qu'on  vous  en  a  amen6 
autant  que  vous  6tes  ici  d'hommes  . . .  Je  sgai  bien  que  cette 
costume  seroit  condamn6  en  Europe,  oil  Ton  ne  considere  pas 
assez  que  la  vertu  se  trouve  dans  I'usage  honnete  de  ramour, 
&  non  pas  k  y  renoncer  enti^rement;  mais  aussi  nous  ne  voyons 
parmy  nous  aucun  de  ces  crimes  abominables  qui  d^shonorent 
v6tre  pais. 

As  if  this  were  not  sufficient  condemnation  of  Europe, 
the  party  of  Maurice  is  subjected  to  a  thorough  physical 
examination  before  being  allowed  to  associate  with  the 
female  slaves.  It  is  from  the  doctors  who  perform  this 
rigid  examination  that  the  strangers  learn  how  the  Seva- 
rambians get  their  information  about  Europe.  These 
doctors  have  traveled  extensively  in  Europe  and  Asia, 
and  are  only  two  of  many  who  have  been  sent  out  by  the 
Sevarambians  to  glean  information  and  new  discoveries 
from  foreign  lands,  as  well  as  to  devise  means  of  keeping 
the  scourges  of  other  countries  from  jeopardizing  the 
perfect  state  founded  l^y  Sevarias. 

Foigny  pleaded  for  a  hearing  in  Europe  for  the  en- 
lightened people  of  Australia.  Vairasse  describes  the 
methods  of  the  Australians  in  keeping  their  civiUzation 
perfect  in  spite  of  Europe.  The  sanitary  inspection  of 
the  Nova  Atlantis  is  a  mere  formaUty.  The  criticism 
indulged  in  by  Vairasse  in  this  searching  physical  ex- 
amination is  subtle  but  caustic. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  105 

Tlie  story  of  Maurice,  just  analysed,  is  as  striking  as 
anything  in  the  book,  although  much  social,  religious, 
and  ethical  material  comes  later  in  the  story.  The  in- 
sistence upon  this  conception.  Nature,^*  in  the  report  of 
Maurice  is  almost  startling,  if  it  be  considered  that 
the  printing  of  the  Sevarambes  was  contemporaneous 
with  the  appearance  of  Phedre  and  of  La  Princesse  de 
Cleves.  God  and  Nature  are  joined  merely  for  form's 
sake.  In  general,  Nature  is  alone  referred  to  in  Maurice's 
account  of  the  speeches  made  to  him  by  the  Sevarambians. 
This  is  not  the  Nature  of  the  out-doors,  of  the  far-off 
and  solitary  places  of  the  earth,  which  comes  later  in 
the  Voyages  et  aventures  de  Frangais  Leguat  (1708)  and 
which  is  generally  associated  with  the  greater  genius  of 
Defoe,  Rousseau,  and  Bemardin  de  Saint-Pierre.  Neither 
is  it  quite  the  Nature  of  a  formal  and  beatific  sort  found 
in  Foigny's  Terre  austraU  connue,  which  is,  as  M.  Chinard 
has  suggested  ^  a  reflection  in  later  days  of  la  nostalgic 
de  VEden  des  siecles  de  foi. 

Nature,  in  the  exposition  of  Vairasse's  ideas  through 
the  words  of  Sermodas,  is  not  a  personified  being  to  be 
worshiped,  loved,  and  celebrated  in  rime.  It  is  rather  a 
rationalistic  system  of  things,  a  materialistic  system,  by 
virtue  of  which  man  and  the  world  in  which  he  lives  can 
be  interpreted  in  terms  that  are  capable  of  formulation 
and  definition.  "  Conservation  of  the  species  "  in  1677 
reminds  the  modern  reader  perhaps  of  Huxley,  Spencer, 
and  others  of  the  Darwinian  school,  rather  than  of  St. 
Thomas  Aquinas.  But  the  same  term,  used  to  excuse 
the  expression  nmis  ne  souffrons  pas  que  personne  soil 
id  sans  fetnmes,  sounds  remarkably  Uke  the  voice  of 

"  Campanella,  being  sincerely  religious,  bases  his  conclusions  in 
the  Civitas  Solis  on  the  will  of  God.  With  Vairasse  it  is  Nature 
rather  than  God  which  acts  "for  the  good  of  the  race." 

**  L'Amtrique  et  le  r&ve  exotigue,  p.  205. 


106  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

profligate  Rousseau  pleading  with  the  mothers  of  France 
to  nurse  their  own  infants.  (It  will  be  found  later  that 
Sevarambian  mothers  are  obliged  by  law  to  do  this.) 
The  term  Nature  to  an  epicurean  logician  like  Vairasse 
serves  as  a  weapon  against  tradition,  customs,  revealed 
rehgion,  social  prejudice  and  precedent.  It  is,  moreover, 
a  shield  and  an  excuse  (when  there  is  need)  from  whose 
shelter  it  is  convenient  to  expound  new  ideas,  particu- 
larly sex-ideas. 

The  wide  divergence  between  Foigny  and  Vairasse  is 
nowhere  more  apparent  than  in  the  treatment  of  women 
by  these  two  men.  Foigny,  the  defrocked  monk  and 
renegade  Protestant  chorister,  never  became  emancipated 
from  the  sin  idea.  He  laments  the  lot  of  woman  in 
European  civilization,  and  shows  a  definite  feministic 
point  of  view  in  the  Terre  australe  connue.  The  single 
sentence  of  Vairasse,  nous  ne  souffrons  pas  que  personne 
soil  id  sans  femmes  (p.  101)  suffices  to  indicate  his 
point  of  view.  His  taking  up  the  distribution  of  women 
by  Cornelis,  in  Pelsart's  harrowing  story  of  shipwreck, 
and  his  making  of  it  a  defensible  act,  can  be  taken  as 
another  index  of  his  "experimental"  point  of  view  in 
these  matters.  Compulsory  marriage  and  community 
of  women  are  concomitant  phenomena  of  social  revolu- 
tion based  on  materialistic  philosophy.  Strangely  enough 
the  inclusion  of  women  in  armies  as  fighters  goes  hand  in 
hand  with  these  same  phenomena  of  revolution,  even  as 
in  the  army  of  the  Sevarambians  there  are  women. 

To  return  to  Maurice's  story,  it  will  be  remembered  that 
the  shipwrecked  sailors  and  their  female  slaves  were  in 
the  same  room,  listening  to  the  philosophy  of  moderation 
as  expounded  by  Sermodas  on  page  97  of  the  novel. 
To  those  who  read  the  Histoire  des  Sivarambes  for  the  sake 
of  the  story,  it  must  have  been  a  relief  to  find  (p.  103) 
that  the  last  of  the  philosophers  se  retirerent,  &  nous 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  107 

nous  consultdmes  de  la  maniere  dont  nous  choisirions  n^s 
femmes.  Strangely  enough,  after  so  long  a  time  in  which 
to  compare  the  merits  of  the  various  slaves,  the  division 
was  made  sans  querelle  &  sans  dispute  (p.  103).  A  sad 
commentary  on  the  willingness  of  human  beings  to  dis- 
play that  moderation  which  is  the  greatest  wisdom  is 
found  in  the  description  which  includes  the  words:  .  .  . 
des  chambres  ou  Us  avoient  ete  enfermes  toute  la  nuit,  your 
emp^cher  le  d^sordre  &  Vechange  qu^on  auroit  pu  faire; 
ce  qui  n'etoit  pas  permis  (p.  104). 

7.  The  Journey  to  Sevarinde 

A  few  days  after  the  return  of  Maurice  and  the  Austra- 
lian representatives,  the  party  of  Captain  Siden  begins 
its  journey  to  Sevarinde.  Arrived  at  Sporounde,  the 
capital  of  the  nearest  province,  a  new  division  of  women 
takes  place.  Each  woman  of  the  shipwrecked  party  has 
the  right  to  retain  the  man  whom  she  holds  responsible 
for  her  pregnancy.  The  other  men  are  supplied  with 
female  slaves. 

The  party  is  then  received  at  the  temple  by  the  Gover- 
nor and  his  entourage  of  senators.  A  marriage  ceremony 
takes  place  at  the  temple.  It  is  as  perfectly  systematized 
and  executed  as  anything  reported  of  the  Sevarambes  by 
Captain  Siden.  Two  files,  'one  of  young  women  of 
marriageable  age,  one  of  unmarried  young  men,  are 
lined  up  on  opposite  sides  of  the  temple.  Each  young 
woman  in  turn  designates  the  young  man  of  her  choice. 
Each  young  man  has  the  power  of  acceptance  or  of  veto. 
A  few  women  are  left  over,  after  the  pairing  off.  Of 
these,  some  wait  for  another  opportunity,  which  will 
come  after  a  set  period  of  time.  The  remainder,  having 
been  thrice  refused  in  public,  are  permitted  to  request  a 
senator  or  other  public  ofl&cial  to  accept  them  as  plural 


108  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

wives.  The  request  is  made  in  three  cases,  and  les  trois 
Senateurs  descendirent  incontinent,  &  les  prenant  par  la 
main,  les  mendrent  a  VAutel  (p.  118).  Thus  the  young 
women,  who  in  Europe  would  have  remained  spinsters, 
are  saved  from  this  lonely  fate.  The  authorized  polygamy 
in  the  case  of  state  ofl&cials  serves  to  do  away  with  the 
evils  of  ceUbacy.  That  anything  is  preferable  to  ceUbacy 
seems  to  have  been  the  judgment  of  Vairasse. 

The  temple  of  the  city  of  Sporounde  resembles  the 
other  temples  of  the  land.  The  deity  of  these  people 
is  triple  in  its  manifestations.  There  are  three  features 
of  the  temple.  First,  there  is  a  large  globe  of  glass,  which 
represents  the  sun  (for  the  S^varambes  are  sun-wor- 
shippers). Second,  there  is  an  allegorical  figure  of  a 
many-breasted  woman,  representing  the  fertile  native 
land.  Third,  there  is  a  large  black  curtain  drawn  across 
the  altar,  at  the  back,  representing  the  unknowable  God. 
The  resemblance  of  the  image  of  the  sun  to  the  golden 
Sim  in  the  temple  of  the  Incas,  together  with  the  simi- 
larity of  the  Pachacamac,  or  incomprehensible  god  of 
the  Incas  to  the  unknowable  god  of  the  Sevarambians 
is  too  evident  to  be  insisted  upon.  This  similarity  has 
been  mentioned  by  Marchand.^^ 

The  third  member  of  the  Sevarambian  trinity  is  how- 
ever of  Asiatic  origin.  In  the  Voyages  en  Tartaric  of 
Pierre  Bergeron  ^^  occurs  the  following  description  of  the 
idols  of  the  Tartars: 

cependant  lis  ne  laissent  pas  d'auoir  des  idoles  de  feutre  faites. 
k  la  semblance  d'hommes,  &  les  posent  de  part  &  d'autre  des 
portes  de  leurs  logis;  &  au  dessous  y  a  ie  ne  S5ay  quoy  de  mesme 
estofe,  en  forme  de  mammelles,  &  croyent  que  c'est  ce  qui  garde 
leurs  troupeaux,  &  qui  leur  donne  du  laict,  &  des  petits. 

*•  Didionnaire,  Article  Veirasse. 

»  Paris,  1634,  Voyage  de  Carpin,  ch.  3,  pp.  323-324. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  109 

A  marginal  note  by  Bergeron  reads,  M.  Pole  appelle 
Natigat  ceste  sorte  de  Dieu  Id,  I.  1.  c.  4^  &  I.  2.  c.  16  c'est 
le  Dieu  des  choses  terrestres.  The  same  god  is  mentioned 
in  the  Traicte  des  Tartares  of  Pierre  Bergeron.^^ 

In  the  Voyages  en  Tartarie,  a  few  pages  after  the  quo- 
tation above  ^^  occurs  the  following  which  is  curiously 
like  the  speech  of  Sermodas  previously  quoted,  regarding 
traditions  of  people  and  their  influence  in  conceptions  of 
right  and  wrong: 

Et  bien  qu'ils  n'ayent  aucune  loy  pour  ce  qui  est  de  la  justice, 
ou  pour  se  garder  du  pech6;  lis  ont  toutefois  ie  ne  S9ay  quelles 
traditions  de  choses  qu'ils  tiennent  pour  peche,  selon  qu'eux- 
mesmes  &  leurs  ancestres  se  sont  imaginez. 

Further  reference  will  be  had  to  the  Voyages  en  Tartarie 
in  deaUng  with  the  government,  laws  and  property  con- 
ceptions of  the  Sevarambians. 

That  this  trinity  of  the  Severambians  should  be  two 
thirds  South  American  and  one  third  Asiatic  is  curious. 
Were  it  not  for  later  and  more  definite  proof  of  Vairasse's 
indebtedness  to  the  Commentaire  royal  ou  VHistoire  des 
Yncas,  it  might  be  supposed  that  the  sun-worship  men- 
tioned here  was  taken  from  the  Persian  sun-worshipers. 

After  several  ceremonies  of  less  importance,  the  com- 
pany start  on  their  journey  to  the  capital.  On  stopping 
at  one  city,  Captain  Siden  sees  fourteen  prisoners  being 
led  out  to  punishment.  Of  these  there  were  six  hommes 
.  .  .  condamnes  a  dix  ans  de  punition,  quelques  uns  pour 
avoir  tuS,  &  d'autres  pour  avoir  commis  aduUere  (p.  126). 
There  are  also  two  women  convicted  of  adultery,  who 
devoient  etre  punies  durant  sept  ans  pour  satisfaire  aux 
Lois;    ensuite  elles  devoient  souffrir  aussi  long  terns  quHl 

*'  Paris,  1634,  p.  69.    This  TraicU  is  a  sort  of  compendium  of 
information  referring  to  Tartary,  composed  by  Bergeron. 
"  p.  327. 


no  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

plairoit  a  leurs  maris  (p.  126).  Unmarried  persons  of 
both  sexes,  convicted  of  adultery,  are  punished  and  then 
made  to  marry.  Vairasse's  point  of  view  with  regard  to 
women  is  again  brought  out  in  these  sentences. 

One  curiously  inartistic  incident  is  recounted  here. 
A  long  description  of  one  unfaithful  wife  is  given.  Before 
her  punishment  takes  place,  her  repentant  husband 
rushes  on  the  scene,  to  take  the  lashes  intended  for  his 
wife.  He  speaks  for  more  than  two  duodecimo  pages,  and 
is  followed  in  oratory  by  his  repentant  wife,  who  speaks 
for  another  full  page.  In  her  speech  are  such  gems  of 
style  as: 

Cessez,  cessez  de  blesser  mon  cceur  par  les  tdmoignagea 
d'une  bont^  &  d'une  g^n^rosit^  sans  ^gale  (p.  132). 

Captain  Siden  assures  the  reader  that  this  interview 
arrachoit  les  larmes  des  yeux  de  tous  les  assistants  (p.  32), 
but  this  same  tender-hearted  crowd  belabors  the  pris- 
oners who  are  led  past  after  the  punishment,  si  rudement 
que  le  sang  couloit  de  leurs  playes  (p.  132). 

This  Sevarambian  crowd  seems  to  be  a  strange  mixture 
of  precieux  and  American  Indians.  They  take  equal 
pleasure  in  weeping  over  sentiment  and  "passing  prisoners 
through  the  lines." 

Siden 's  party  now  proceeds  by  boat,  thanks  to  well 
built  canals,  which, 

on  ne  s§auroit  faire  en  Europe  pour  cinquante  millions  de  livres, 
&  neanmoins  I'industrie  de  ces  peuples  a  fait  tout  cela  sans 
argent ;  car  ils  ne  s'en  servant  dans  aucun  endroit  de  leur  domina- 
tion, &  en  estiment  I'usage  pernicieux  (p.  135). 

This  is  of  course  the  viopian  idea  of  a  happy  land  where 
money  is  unknown.  It  is  interesting  however  that  this 
society  is  founded  on  conditions  of  slave-labor,  and 
that  the  slaves  are  prisoners  of  war,  or  levied  after  vic- 
tories from  defeated  nations. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  111 

Follows  an  exotic  sort  of  hunting  and  fishing.  Trained 
animals  and  birds  do  all  the  tiresome  part  of  the  hunting, 
after  the  fashion  of  the  trained  leopards  of  India,  or 
the  cormorants  of  the  Yangtse  boatmen.  (There  can  be 
little  doubt  that  Vairasse  in  his  wide  reading  had  found 
such  accounts.)  The  party  then  proceeds  through  a 
tunnel  in  a  mountain  to  the  province  wherein  Hes  the 
capital.  As  Vairasse  has  already  mentioned  fish  similar 
to  those  caught  dans  le  lac  de  Geneve,  it  would  seem  that 
this  tunnel  is  a  reminiscence  of  the  mountains  of  Europe, 
for  it  leads  directly  into  the  streets  of  a  city.  Other 
traces  of  Alpine  civiUzation  are  found.  After  ascending 
in  one  of  two  cars,  attached  to  the  ends  of  a  cable  pass- 
ing through  a  pulley  at  the  summit  of  a  mountain,  Captain 
Siden  is  shown  a  high  plateau  country  where  grazing  of 
cattle  is  possible  eight  months  of  the  year.  At  the  end 
of  the  warm  season, 

on  les  fait  descendre  dans  les  vallons .  .  .  parce  que  les  neiges 
rendent  cette  montagne  inhabitable  .  .  .  Aussi  nous  n'y  vimes 
ni  Ville  ni  Village,  mais  seulement  quelques  petits  hameaux  .  . . 
pour  la  commodity  des  bergers  (p.  158). 

On  the  journey  to  Sevarinde,  the  capital,  Sermodas 
gives  Captain  Siden  more  light  on  the  customs  and 
history  of  the  people.  Of  the  construction  of  the  tunnel, 
he  says  (p.  165), 

rien  dont  les  hommes  puissent  venir  k  bout  n'est  impossible  a 
notre  nation;  ou  les  particuliers  n'ont  rien  k  eux,  &  ou  le  public 
possedant  toutes  choses,  &  en  disposant,  on  \'ient  k  bout  de 
toutes  les  grandes  entreprises,  sans  or  &  sans  argent. 

Sermodas  further  explains  many  remarkable  features  of 
the  Ufe  and  customs  of  the  people  by  giving  an  account 
of  the  early  Ufe  and  training  of  Sevarias  the  founder  of 
the  nation  (pp.  167-168). 


112  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

Sevarias  notre  premier  Legislateur,  qui  6toit  un  grand  Seigneur, 
Persan  de  naissance  &  d'origine,  avoit  voyag6  dans  plusieurs 
endroits  de  I'Asie  &  de  I'Europe; . . .  d^s  sa  plus  tendre  jeunesse, 
il  avoit  appris  les  lettres  grecques,  &  presque  toutes  les  sciences, 
sous  un  Pr^cepteur  Venetien, . . .  qui  I'accompagna  en  ce  PaJs, 
. . .  fut  son  conseiller  fidele  dans  toutes  ses  entreprises,  &  surtout 
dans  r^tablissement  des  Loix  &  des  Moeurs  qu'ils  estim^rent 
les  meilleurs.  Pour  cet  effet  ils  tir^rent,  tant  des  livres  anciens 
que  nouveaux,  des  observations  qu'ils  avoient  faites  dans  leiuis 
voyages,  &  des  liunieres  qu'ils  avoient  naturellement,  les  loix 
&  les  regies  de  bien  vivre,  qu'ils  ^tablirent  parmy  nous. 

Ideal  commonwealths  which  have  knowledge  of  other 
civilizations  exist  prior  to  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  City  of  the  Sun  of  Campanella, 
as  well  as  those  of  the  Nova  Atlantis  of  Bacon,  have  an 
idea  of  the  relative  merits  of  different  civiUzations  and 
rehgions.  It  is  curious  that  Sevarias  (which  is  merely 
Vairasse  in  an  anagram)  should  have  obtained  his  wisdom 
by  travel,  by  a  study  of  divers  peoples,  of  ancient  and 
modern  books.  The  analogy  between  Sevarias,  who 
studies,  travels  and  then  sets  forth  to  estabUsh  a  perfect 
state,  and  Vairasse,  who  studied,  traveled,  and  then 
sat  down  to  write  an  account  of  a  perfect  state,  is  very 
striking.  As  in  the  early  Ufe  of  Captain  Siden,  the 
campaigns  and  law  studies  of  Vairasse  are  reflected,  so 
here  the  processes  of  mind  of  Vairasse  the  geographer 
and  rationalistic  philosopher  find  reflection  in  the  char- 
acter whose  name  is  an  anagram  of  the  author's  surname 
instead  of  his  given  name. 

Further  on  the  way  to  the  capital,  Captain  Siden  is 
present  at  a  review  of  troops,  divided  into  three  camps: 

Les  hommes  matins  occupoient  avec  leiu^  Femmes  le  Camp 
du  milieu;  les  Filles  celui  de  la  droite,  &  les  GarQons  la  gauche; 
le  m^me  ordre  6toit  observ6  dans  la  Ligne  lorsqu'ils  6toient 
sous  les  armes  (p.  173). 


IN    FRENCH  LITERATURE  113 

That  women  rode  horseback  and  bore  arms  had  been 
the  report  of  many  travelers  to  the  East.  In  the  Traicte 
des  Tartares  of  Pierre  Bergeron,  previously  referred  to 
in  connection  with  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes,  occurs 
the  following: 

Les  filles  &  feromes  sgauent  aller  k  cheval,  &  les  font  courir  & 
galoper  aussi  viste  que  les  hommes.  Nous  en  auons  veu  auec 
des  arcs  &  des  carquois  (p.  341). 

EUes  portent  toutes  des  calgons;  &  y  en  a  qui  tirent  aussi 
bien  de  Tare  que  les  hommes  (p.  342). 

There  is  considerable  description  of  the  uniform  of  the 
army  of  the  Sivarambes,  as  well  as  an  argument  that 
European  armies  have  done  wrong  in  discontinuing  the 
use  of  archers.  These  are  said  by  the  Sivarambes  to 
be  invaluable  in  routing  the  enemy  cavalry  (p.  179). 

The  journey  to  S^varinde,  the  capital,  is  completed 
by  boat.  The  city  Ues  on  an  island  in  the  center  of  a 
large,  navigable  river.  It  is  geometrically  arranged, 
having  only  square  buildings  and  only  straight  streets. 
Trees  are  planted  in  regular  rows.  The  streets  can  be 
flushed  with  water,  and  in  the  warm  season  canvas  is 
hung  from  roof  to  roof  over  them  so  that  there  may  be 
shade.  This  last  feature  is  one  more  reflection  of  Vairasse's 
reading.  In  many  accounts  of  Persia,^  the  cities,  and 
especially  Ispahan,  are  reported  as  having  these  street- 
awnings. 

One  of  the  osmasies,  or  square  buildings,  is  ready  and 
waiting  for  occupancy  by  the  strangers  when  they 
arrive.  A  fuU  complement  of  slaves  waits  to  serve  them. 
Captain  Siden's  party  is  taken  to  the  palace  of  the  sim, 

*"  It  is  of  little  importance  whether  Vairasse  took  this  feature 
from  Marco  Polo,  Pierre  Bergeron,  or  Ta vernier  (1676).  It  has  been 
pointed  out  in  the  short  account  of  Vairasse's  life,  that  he  gave 
lectures  on  geography.  He  must  have  known  many  collections  of 
travels. 


114  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

the  residence  of  the  Vice-roi  du  Soleil  as  the  king  is  called. 
There  is  considerable  description  of  the  jnagnificence  and 
size  of  this  palace. 

After  ten  days  of  sight-seeing,  the  company  are  put  to 
work,  pour  nous  garantir  des  maux  ou  pourroit  nous  jetter 
la  fainiantise  (p.  192).  They  work  only  six  hours  a 
day  (instead  of  eight,  like  the  natives)  for  they  have  to 
receive  instruction  in  the  laws  and  language  of  the  land. 
Of  the  language  Captain  Siden  says,  j'en  compris  tous  les 
prindpes  dans  trois  ou  quatre  mois,  &  dans  une  annee,  je 
sus  m'expliquer  passablement  bien  (p.  196). 

The  Sevarambes  are  a  resourceful  and  inventive  people. 
Many  inventions  have  added  to  the  wealth  and  beauty 
of  their  land.  In  particular  there  is  une  invention  qu'ils 
ont  trouvee  de  dissovdre  le  sable,  de  Vengraisser  &  de  le 
convertir  en  bonne  terre  (p.  205).  Captain  Siden  says 
that  he  intends  to  bring  this  invention  to  Europe,  but 
it  will  be  remembered,  from  the  Avis  au  lecteur,  that  he 
died  before  reaching  Holland.  That  this  invention  of 
the  Sevarambes  is  a  reflection  of  the  Nova  Atlantis  or  of 
the  Terre  australe  connue  is  probable.  (That  part  of  the 
Histoire  des  Sevarambes  which  appeared  in  English  '^ 
before  the  Terre  aiLstrale  connue  was  published,  contained 
no  such  inventions.)  Certainly  the  Incas  of  Garcilaso 
and  the  Persians  and  Saracens  of  the  Voyages  to  the 
Near  East  are  not  credited  with  any  inventive  power. 
Whereas  the  "miracles"  of  Foigny's  AustraUans  were  of 
the  type  of  those  performed  by  magic  —  the  creation 
of  life,  the  control  of  the  material  by  the  immaterial  — 
this  one  invention  of  the  SSvarambes  is  intensely  practical. 
There  probably  never  existed  a  more  matter-of-fact, 
materialistic  people  than  the  people  of  Vairasse's  im- 
agination. 

'*  For  full  account  of  The  History  of  the  Sevarites,  of.  Appendix. 


IN   FRENCH   LITERATURE  115 

8,  History  of  the  Sevarambian  Kings 
With  the  Third  Part  of  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes 
(p.  208),  comes  the  history  of  the  Kings,  or  Viceroys  of 
the  Sun.  The  sun  is  considered  as  the  king.  The  ruler, 
elected  by  the  leading  men,  and  indirectly  by  the  people, 
is  considered  as  the  representative  of  the  Sun.  Of  the 
first  Viceroy,  Sevarias,  Captain  Siden  learned  from  the 
guide  Sermodas,  before  arriving  at  the  capital.  A  more 
complete  account  of  his  hfe  is  foimd  in  the  historical 
part  of  the  book  (pp.  208-296). 

Born  in  Persia,  and  brought  up  among  the  Parsi  who 
were  sun-worshipers  and  never  took  up  Mohammedanism 
with  the  rest  of  their  compatriots,  Sevarias  was  a  youth 
of  great  promise.  He  had  a  splendid  education,  and 
together  with  his  Christian  tutor,  Giovanni  (doubtless  a 
reflection  of  Marco  Polo),  traveled  in  the  principal  coun- 
tries of  the  world,  including  Italy,  Egypt,  Sicily  and 
Japan.  At  one  time,  both  he  and  his  tutor  were  sold  into 
slavery  and  separated,  much  in  the  same  way  as  T^lemaque 
and  Mentor.  After  such  splendid  preparation,  study, 
and  travel,  Sevarias  came  to  Australia  admirably  equipped 
to  found  a  perfect  nation,  in  the  year  1427  A.D.  To 
convince  the  natives  of  his  right  to  rule,  Sevarias  had 
recourse  to  the  use  of  fire-arms.  This,  being  mistaken 
for  lightning  by  the  natives,  made  the  conquest  easy. 
All  this  part  of  the  story  is  strongly  reminiscent  of  the 
conquest  of  Mexico  and  Peru  by  the  Spaniards. 

Sevarias  introduces  sun-worship,  abolishes  corrupt 
moral  practices,  and  founds  granaries  wherein  to  store 
food  against  the  years  of  poor  harvests,  in  the  same  way 
that  the  first  Kjng  or  Inca  introduced  sun-worship, 
abolished  corrupt  practices  and  founded  granaries  in 
Peru,  according  to  the  Histoire  des  Yncas.^^    The  rational 

^  Transl.  from  the  Spanish  of  Garcilaso  by  Jean  Beaudoin, 
Paris,  1633,  and  in  many  later  editions. 


116  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

Deism  of  the  Inca  Manco  Capae  has  been  discussed  in  the 
Introduction  to  this  study,  and  again  in  the  consideration 
of  Foigny's  Terre  aiLstrale  connue.  It  will  be  remembered 
that  the  temple  of  the  Sevarambes  contained  a  globe, 
representing  the  sun,  and  a  black  curtain,  representing 
the  incomprehensible  God,  suggestive  of  the  sun-worship 
of  the  Incas  and  of  their  Pachacamac  or  incomprehensible 
God.  One  other  innovation  of  Sevarias  in  Australia  has 
a  strangely  American  sound.  He  teaches  the  natives 
to  build  proper  beats,  as  they  only  had  de  petits  canots 
fails  d'ecorces  d'arbre  (p.  251). 

The  election  of  a  successor  to  Sevarias,  however,  is 
not  similar  to  the  Inca  system  of  royal  succession.  Having 
ruled  thirty-eight  years,  Sevarias  wishes  to  retire,  and 
directs  that  an  election  of  his  successor  be  held.  The 
chief  men  of  the  kingdom,  being  called  together,  elect 
four  of  their  number.  These  four  draw  lots,  and  the 
"sign  of  the  sun"  falls  to  one  Khom^das,  who  is  then 
enthroned  as  Viceroy  of  the  Sun. 

The  third  member  of  the  Sevarambian  trinity  —  the 
many-breasted  female  figure,  representing  the  native  land 
—  was  of  Asiatic  origin.  Similarly  the  election  of  rulers 
would  seem  to  be  a  reminiscence  of  the  East  and  not  of 
the  West.  In  the  Traicie  des  Tartares  of  Pierre  Bergeron, 
in  which  is  found  the  account  of  the  many-breasted  idol, 
there  occurs  the  following  incident  of  the  election  of  an 
emperor  to  succeed  Cham  Cingis,  who  leit  four  sons: 

Ces  enfans  auec  les  autres  principaux  Seigneurs  de  I'Estat 
assemblez,  esleurent  pour  Empereur  le  fils  aisn^,  Occoday  (p.  353). 

Another  mention  is  made  of  the  election  of  a  successor 
of  an  emperor  in  the  same  work  (p.  357). 

Khomedas,  who  succeeds  Sevarias  in  the  story  of 
Vairasse,  builds  bridges  and  city  walls,  and  encourages 
the  arts  (pp.  296-298). 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  117 

Brontas,  the  next  Viceroy,  establishes  new  cities  and 
quells  an  uprising  in  favor  of  personal  property,  which 
had  been  abolished  by  Sevarias  (pp.  299-300). 

Dumistas,  an  ambitious  Viceroy,  attempts  to  extend 
the  territory  of  the  Sevarambes  but  is  prevented  from 
so  doing  by  the  council  of  elders.  Here  again  is  felt 
the  power  of  the  representatives  elected  by  the  people 
(pp.  300-301). 

Sevaristas  has  a  reign  of  peace  and  abundance,  ex- 
tending over  forty-seven  years.  He  encourages  the  arts 
and  sciences  (pp.  302-304), 

Khimas,  sixth  Viceroy  of  the  Sim,  investigates  the 
mineral  resources  of  the  country.  Ce  jut  lui  qui  fit  mettre 
autour  du  grand  globe  lumineux  du  temple  de  Sevarinde, 
qui  represente  le  Soleil,  cette  grande  plaque  d'or  massif, 
&  coupee  &  gravee  en  rayons  (p.  304).  This  is  of  course 
a  reminiscence  of  the  representation  of  the  sun  in  the 
temple  of  the  Incas,  a  plaque  of  gold  which  one  of 
Pizarro's  soldiers  stole  and  then  gambled  away  in  one 
night,  according  to  Garcilaso. 

Kimpsas  is  the  soldier  king.  He  repels  invasion, 
goes  into  the  enemy's  country  and  levies  yearly  quotas 
of  slaves  from  subjected  neighboring  states  (pp.  304-306). 

Minas,  the  ruler  at  the  time  of  Captain  Siden's  visits 
is  distinguished  for  having  built  an  aqueduct  (pp.  306-307). 

It  is  true  that  the  Histoire  des  Yncas  contains  the  story 
of  a  number  of  kings,  one  of  whom  invaded  the  enemy's 
country  and  brought  back  slaves,^  another  of  whom 
built  an  aqueduct  to  Cuzco  in  the  Andes  as  Minas  is 
reported  to  have  done  in  Austraha.  It  is  also  true  that 
the  case  of  Khimas  and  the  golden  plaque  is  very  much 
the  same  thing  as  the  installation  of  the  gold  plaque  in 
the  temple  of  the  Incas.  The  similarity  of  these  two 
sets  of  incidents  is  too  striking  to  be  overlooked.  The 
"  Ynca  Yahuarhuacac,  Histoire  des  Yncas,  1.  iv,  ch.  xvii. 


118  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

general  indebtedness  of  Vairasse  to  Garcilaso  has  been 
mentioned  in  Marchand's  Didionnaire,  in  the  Article 
Veirasse  and  by  M.  Chinard.'* 

The  names  of  the  Viceroys  of  the  Sevarambes,  however, 
are  not  at  all  suggestive  of  the  Incas.  On  the  contrary, 
these  names  are  distinctly  Persian.  As  Vairasse  makes 
the  law-giver,  Sevarias,  come  from  Persia,  it  takes  little 
ingenuity  to  find  in  accounts  of  voyages  to  Persia  such 
names  as:  Guensas,  Cheselbas,  Kayumarras.^  The  simi- 
larity of  the  Persian  name  Gempsas  ^*  to  Kimpsas,  the 
seventh  Austrahan  Viceroy  of  the  Sun,  is  even  greater. 
Persian  names  in  which  the  letter  "  K  "  occurs  are  common. 

The  pubUcation  of  Bergeron's  books  deaUng  with  the 
Near  East  before  1640  would  seem  to  indicate  some  in- 
terest in  Persia  early  in  the  17th  century.  The  fact  that 
there  was  a  company  formed  in  Paris  pour  V  etablissement 
du  commerce  en  Perse  &  aux  Indes,^''  in  1665  would  argue 
some  considerable  interest  in  the  Orient  before  1670  at 
Paris.  That  Vairasse  knew  something  at  least  of  Persia  and 
its  capital  appears  at  the  end  of  the  Histoiredes  Sevarambes, 
when  Captain  Siden  returns  to  Europe,  passing  through 
Hispahan,  ville  capitale  de  la  Perse.  Whether  Vairasse 
knew  the  Voyages  en  Tartaric  of  Pierre  Bergeron,  or  simply 
the  Voyages  of  Marco  Polo,  it  is  very  likely  that  he  knew 
in  addition  the  writings  of  Jean  Baptiste  Tavernier. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Nouvelle  relation  de  I'in- 
terieur  du  serail  du  Grand  Seigneur  of  Tavernier  had 
appeared  at  Paris  in  1675.  That  Tavernier  was  well 
and  favorably  known  at  Paris  has  been  pointed  out  by 
M.    Martino  ^^   and   others.    This   Nouvelle   relation  du 

'*  L'Amerique  el  le  rive  exotique,  p.  206. 

3*  Traicti  des  Sarasins,  pp.  90-98  (Bound  with  TraictS  des  Tar- 
tares,  Pierre  Bergeron,  Paris,  1634). 

**  Ibid.  "  Suite  des  Voyages  de  Tavernier,  Paris,  1680. 

*8  P.  Martino,  L'Orient  dans  la  litt^ature  fran^aise,  Paris,  1906. 


IN  FRENCH   LITERATURE  119 

serail  was  reviewed  in  the  Journal  des  Sgavans  in  1676 '' 
and  attracted  some  considerable  attention.  In  1676 
there  appeared  at  Paris  Les  six  Voyages  de  J.  B.  Tavernier, 
in  which  occurs  a  fairly  complete  history  of  the  Kings  of 
Persia.  Of  these,  Cha-Abas  the  first  King,  set  the  realm 
in  order  and  built  a  great  temple.^  Another  king  is 
reported  to  have  built  an  aqueduct;  another  discovers 
mines  of  lead,  talc,  and  other  minerals;  another  makes 
war  on  neighboring  states. 

There  is  every  reason  to  beheve  that  Vairasse,  who  was 
giving  lectures  on  geography  at  this  time,  knew  not  only 
the  Histoire  des  Yncas  but  the  Six  voyages  de  J.  B.  Ta- 
vernier. Undeniable  traces  of  the  Inca  civilization  have 
been  pointed  out  in  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes.  Al- 
though there  is  no  such  close  following  of  Tavernier  in 
Vairasse's  novel  as  is  found  later  in  the  work  of  Tyssot 
de  Patot  *^  and  Frangois  Leguat,^^  it  is  likely  that  the 
history  of  the  Viceroys  of  the  Sun  among  the  Sevarambes 
is  a  reflection  both  of  the  Histoire  des  Yncas  and  of  the 
Six  Voyages  de  J.  B.  Tavernier.  As  the  exterior  reUgion 
of  the  Sevarambes  is  two  thirds  South  American  and 
one  third  Asiatic  (Tartar),  so  the  history  of  their  kings 
is  probably  imitated  by  Vairasse  on  the  models  of  two 
continents.*^ 

39  Year  1676,  p.  18.  •*"  History  of  the  Kings,  pp.  478  et  seq. 

*^  Voyages  de  Jacques  Masse,  Bordeaux,  1710. 

*'  Voyage  et  avantures  de  Francois  Legvxit,  London,  1708. 

^  The  influence  of  travels  to  the  Near  East,  bringing  with  them 
the  question  of  polygamy,  exerted  a  marked  influence  in  France 
before  1680.  Interest  in  harem  stories  has  been  referred  to  in  the 
work  of  LeBlanc,  Mocquet,  and  Tavernier.  M.  Lanson  has  pointed 
out  the  discussion  of  polygamy  in  connection  with  the  development 
of  the  free-thinking  rationahsm  in  France,  and  in  tracing  the  growth 
of  non-religious  morality.  Whether  or  not  the  Discursus  de  poly- 
gamia  (1673)  or  the  Polygamia  triwnphatrix  (1676)  of  Jean  Lyser 
influenced  Vairasse,  there  were  doubtless  many  works  on  the 
subject  known  to  both  men.    M.  Lanson  mentions  Lyser  as  another 


120  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

9.  Government 

The  election  of  rulers  has  been  described.  Each  small 
group,  living  in  an  osmasie,  has  a  representative,  elected 
by  the  people  of  the  group.  Each  district  has  a  repre- 
sentative elected  by  the  leaders  of  the  groups  concerned. 
These  in  turn  elect  governors.  The  most  important 
officials  gather  together,  upon  the  death  of  a  Viceroy  of 
the  Sun,  and  elect  a  new  Viceroy,  by  selecting  four  of 
their  number  to  draw  lots.  Thus  the  country  is  governed, 
despotically,  by  a  ruler  elected  democratically.  In  the 
hands  of  the  government  are  all  food,  clothing,  and  im- 
plements, which  are  doled  out  from  central  storehouses 
to  local  storehouses.  The  similarity  of  this  system  to 
that  of  the  Incas  is  apparent.  Both  the  kings  of  the 
Incas  and  Viceroys  of  the  Sun  among  the  Sevarambes  are: 

de  bons  p^res  de  famille,  ou  de  fiddles  CBconomes  plut6t  que  des 
Rois.« 

Naturally,  the  opportunity  to  compare  this  hapoy 
system  with  the  corrupt  ways  of  Europe  is  not  over- 
looked : 

il  y  a  cette  difference  entre  eux  &  nous,  que  les  moyens  dont  lis 
se  servent  pour  s'^lever,  sont  tous  honn^tes  &  legitimes  &  que 
le  plus  souvent  nous  mettons  en  usage  la  bassesse  &  le  crime 
pour  nous  tirer  de  Tobscurit^  &  de  la  mis^re.  (S^arambeSf 
p.  312). 

Under   this   government,    despotic   but   paternal,   the' 
Australian  is  happy,  contented,  and  rich,  for: 

example  of  the  same  spirit  as  that  found  in  the  Histoire  des  Sita- 
rambes  (R.  C.  C,  2  avril,  1908).  Discussion  of  the  merits  of  Chria- 
tianity  as  opposed  to  Mohammedanism,  and  pubUcation  on  such 
subjects  before  1634  is  mentioned  by  Pierre  Bergeron  {Traicli  dea 
Sarasins,  Paris,  1634,  pp.  63-64). 
*•  Histoire  des  Yncas,  1.  v,  ch.  xi. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  121 

un  exercice  modern  de  huit  heures  par  jour  luy  procure  tous  ces 
avantages,  k  luy,  k  sa  famille  &  k  tous  ses  enfans,  quand  il  en 
auroit  mille  (p.  319). 

On  the  other  hand,  in  Europe, 

nous  avons  parmi  nous  des  gens  qui  regorgent  de  biens  &  de 
richesses,  &  d'autres  qui  manquent  de  tout.  Nous  en  avons 
qui  passent  leur  vie  dans  la  fain^antise  &  dans  la  volupt6,  & 
d'autres  suent  incessament  poiu"  gagner  leur  miserable  vie, . . . 
manquant  des  biens  de  la  fortune,  croupissent  miserablement 
dans  la  boue,  &  sont  condamnez  h  une  4temelle  bassesse  (p.  319). 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the  system  of  the  Ans- 
trahans,  according  to  Vairasse,  is  not  radically  different 
either  from  the  concept  of  absolute  monarchy  as  reported 
to  exist  in  the  Inca  civihzation,  or  from  the  absolute  mon- 
archy of  the  Tartars.*^  The  idea  of  absolute  monarchy 
in  France  itself  was  very  similar  to  that  expressed  by 
Vairasse  in  describing  the  government  of  the  Sevarambes. 
The  great  distinction  hes  in  the  method  of  appHcation 
of  the  theory  of  property.  In  both  France  and  Sevarinde, 
the  entire  wealth  of  the  land  was  theoretically  in  the  hands 
of  the  ruler.  In  Sevarinde,  however,  the  Viceroy  of  the 
Sun  was  elected  to  rule,  and  was  morally  responsible  that 
each  inhabitant  receive  what  was  necessary  to  feed  and 
clothe  him.  The  means  of  discharging  this  responsibility 
existed  in  Sevarinde,  in  the  shape  of  central  and  local 
storehouses,  and  in  a  pyramidal  system  of  state  ofl&cials 
charged  not  only  with  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order 
but  also  with  the  distribution  of  necessities,  and  the 
supervision  of  the  required  amount  of  daily  work.    The 

*^  With  the  Incas,  property  belonged  to  the  ruler,  and  was  ad- 
ministered by  oflBcials.  Of  the  Tartars  it  is  reported  {Traicti  des 
Tartares,  P.  Bergeron,  p.  356),  Tout  appartient  tellement  a  cet 
Empereur,  qu'U  n'y  a  personne  qui  puisse  ou  ose  dire  cecy  ou  cela 
estre  a  soy,  mais  tout  est  d  VEmpereur. 


122  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

theory  of  absolute  monarchy  m  Sevarinde  includes  the 
theory  of  absolute  monarchy  of  other  lands,  but  in  ad- 
dition it  includes  the  theory  of  the  responsibility  of  the 
ruler  to  each  individual.  The  placing  of  responsibiUty 
for  the  welfare  of  his  individual  subjects  upon  the  mon- 
arch, in  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes,  is  a  much  more  danger- 
ous and  revolutionary  procedure  than  any  in  the  Terre 
australe  connue  of  Foigny. 

10.   Education  and  Marriage 

All  children  are  brought  up  by  their  parents  until 
they  reach  the  age  of  seven.  Children  are  then  taken  to 
public  schools,  the  sexes  being  kept  apart,  and  here 
learn  to  hate  vice,  and  to  obey  their  masters  at  the  same 
time  that  they  acquire  facts.  After  four  years,  they  are 
taught  to  work  on  the  land.  They  spend  four  hours  on 
the  land  and  four  in  school.  At  fourteen  years  of  age, 
they  are  taught  grammar,  and  are  given  the  choice  of  a 
trade.  Those  who  are  stupid  are  put  to  work  as  laborers 
and  builders.  Others  learn  a  more  skilled  trade.  All 
receive  miUtary  training,  regardless  of  sex.  One  sentence 
regarding  the  bringing  up  of  children  has  a  familiar 
sound,  chaque  mere  est  obligee  d'allaiter  son  enfant  (p.  331). 
This  occurs  cheek  by  jowl  with  laws  requiring  manual 
labor,  working  on  the  land,  the  learning  of  trades,  and 
other  practices  not  foreign  to  the  preaching  of  Rous- 
seau.** 

Girls  at  sixteen  years,  boys  at  nineteen  years,  are  al- 
lowed to  associate  with  the  opposite  sex,  subject  to  super- 
vision, and  are  permitted  to  think  of  marriage.  Eighteen 
months  is  allowed  for  this.  At  the  end  of  the  period,  all 
are  married.     If  by  chance  there  be  women  left  over, 

*•  M.  Delvaille  in  his  Essai  sur  I' histoire  de  I'idee  du  progrbs, 
p.  364,  states  that  Rousseau  knew  the  Histoire  des  S&Barambes. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  123 

they  are  allowed  to  become  the  second,  third,  or  fourth 
wives  of  public  officials.  An  example  of  this  has  been 
described  fully  earlier  in  the  story  of  Captain  Siden. 
Lack  of  difference  in  wealth  and  in  social  standing  greatly 
simpUfies  the  matter  of  marriage.  There  is  no  such 
thing  as  ambition  to  marry  a  rich  person,  a  person  of 
greater  education  or  culture,  or  a  person  of  higher  stand- 
ing. Equality  of  wealth,  education,  and  social  status 
has  abolished  these  evils.  Equality  is  in  fact  so  vital  a 
matter,  that  the  number  of  nights  per  month  on  which 
young  married  couples  may  use  the  same  bed-chamber 
is  regulated  according  to  their  age.  In  this  manner,  the 
Sevarambes  are  equal,  not  only  as  individuals  but  when 
considered  as  pairs. 

11.  Customs 

The  second  volume  of  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes 
begins  with  a  description  of  the  customs  of  the  people. 
Sobriety  and  lack  of  exterior  forms  of  pohteness  are  the 
salient  characteristics  of  these  people.  They  eat  at 
conmion  tables,  and  hve  happily  sans  Taveme  ni  Cabaret 
(vol.  II,  p.  9).  Having  no  personal  wealth,  and  receiving 
food  and  devx  habits  tous  les  ans  (p.  15)  *''  from  the  gov- 
ernment, they  have  no  reason  to  sin.  Honors  consist 
in  services  to  the  state,  and  in  this  only.     Of  the  women, 

Celles  qui  ont  eu  des  enfans  portent  autant  de  bandes  de 
soye  couleur  de  pourpre,  qu'elles  en  ont  6Iev6  jusqu'^  I'^ge 
de  sept  ans, . . .  ce  qui  les  rend  fort  soigneuses  de  les  Clever  (p.  15) . 

The  hard  and  fast  institutionaHsm  of  Vairasse  is  even 
more  striking  than  that  of  Foigny.  At  least  the  her- 
maphroditic brethren  of  the  latter  were  uniformly  naked. 

"  From  this  point  on,  references  are  to  Vol.  II  unless  otherwise 
stated. 


124  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

The  Sivarambes  are  uniformly  dressed,  one  of  their  yearly 
garments  being  of  cotton  or  linen  for  warm  weather,  the 
other  of  wool  for  cold  weather.  The  working  days  and 
holidays  are  regulated  by  the  sound  of  the  bell.  There 
are  rising  bells  and  bells  that  give  the  signal  to  start  the 
day's  work.    As  for  holidays, 

Le  public  fait  souvent  des  parties  de  chasse,  &  on  donne  la 
liberty  aux  hommes  &  aux  feimnes  de  s'y  trouver . . .  tant6t 
h  de  certaines  compagnies,  &  tantot  k  d'autres  (pp.  16-17). 

It  is  hard  to  realize,  in  reading  of  the  customs  of  the 
SSvaramhes,  that  it  is  not  the  description  of  the  population 
of  an  army  barracks  or  of  a  large  modern  battleship. 
That  work  should  be  arranged,  planned,  and  regulated 
in  a  community  seems  natural.  But  that  the  population 
should  be  allowed  to  go  hunting,  only  in  shifts,  by  watches, 
or  by  platoons  seems  rather  cruelty  than  kindness. 


12.  Laws 

On  ne  punit  jamais  de  mort,  k  moins  que  ce  ne  soit  pour 
quelque  crime  ^nonne;  mais  on  condamne  k  plusieurs  ann^ 
d'imprisonnement,  selon  la  quality  du  crime  (p.  49). 

In  a  long  story  of  justice  triumphant  (pp.  40-48),  two 
men  are  unjustly  sentenced  to  six  months'  imprisonment. 
Later,  their  case  is  reviewed,  and  the  judge, 

N^relias,  tant  pour  sa  Sentence  injuste  qu'il  avoit  rendue 
dans  cette  cause,  que  pour  plusieurs  autres  mauvais  jugemens, 
fut  demis  de  sa  charge,  r6duit  k  la  condition  de  vivre  en  homme 
priv6,  &  expose  k  la  haine  &  au  m^pris  de  tout  le  monde  (p.  47). 

In  neither  case  is  the  punishment  as  severe  as  might  be 
expected.  In  the  entire  chapter  De  la  maniSre  dont  on 
exerce  la  justice,  parmy  les  Sevarambes  (pp.  38-50)  there 
is  no  mention  of  a  citizen  being  reduced  to  slavery. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  125 

Slaves  are  obtained  by  levies  upon  neighboring  subject 
peoples,  as  mentioned  in  the  reign  of  the  Viceroy 
Kimpsas.** 

13.   Religion 

The  part  of  the  Histoire  des  Sivarambes  most  dis- 
tasteful to  the  conservative  readers  of  the  17th  century 
must  have  been  that  dealing  with  religion.  Aside  from 
the  thinly  veiled  satire  of  Christianity  which  occupies 
a  large  part  of  the  second  volume,  there  is  considerable 
criticism  plainly  stated. 

Only  one  exterior  religion  is  allowed.  Men  que  tous  .  .  . 
ayent  pleine  liberie  de  conscience  (p.  105).  A  priest  n'a 
pas  mains  de  part  que  les  autres  au  gouvernement  &  a  la 
socieU  civile  (p.  106).  The  reasons  for  this  are  fully 
given.     On  the  following  page  (107)  one  reads: 

il  n'y  a  peut-^tre  point  de  pays  au  monde  ou  I'on  s'^chauffe 
moins  pour  la  religion,  &  oil  elle  produise  moins  de  querelles 
&  de  guerres;  au  lieu  que,  dans  les  autres  Etats,  on  la  fait 
souvent  servir  de  pr^texte  aux  actions  les  plus  inhumaines  & 
les  plus  impies,  sous  le  masque  de  pi6t6.  C'est  sous  ce  pr^texte 
sp^cieux,  que  rambition,  I'avarice,  &  I'envie  jouent  leur  r61e 
abominable,  &  qu'elles  aveuglent  tellement  les  miserables  mortels 
qu'elles  leur  font  perdre  tous  les  sentimens  d'hiunanit^,  tout 
I'amour  &  le  respect  qu'ils  doivent  au  droit  naturel  &  ^  la  soci6t6 
civile,  &  toute  la  douceur  de  la  charity,  que  les  saintes  maximes 
de  la  Religion  leur  recommandent. 

The  juxtaposition  of  the  terms  droit  naturel  and  sociStS 
civile  is  noteworthy.  It  occurs  again,  a  few  lines  later 
(p.  108): 

**  Upon  the  basis  of  the  mild  nature  of  the  laws  of  the  Severamhes, 
it  is  difficult  to  understand  the  following  sentence  in  M.  Chinard's 
L'Amirique  et  le  rive  exotique,  p.  208;  Du  jour  oil  un  citoyen  refuse 
d'ob&ir  aux  lots  parfaites  dict6es  -par  Sevarias,  il  est  rejeti  de  la  sodUi, 
condamni  d  devenir  le  serviteur  de  tous  les  autres,  sans  espoir  de  jamais 


126  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

II  n'en  est  pas  de  m^me  panny  ces  peuples  heureux,  oti  per- 
sonne  ne  peut  opprimer  son  prochain,  ni  violer  aucunement  le 
droit  natiirel  sous  aucun  pr^texte  de  Religion ...  &  oil  Ton  ne 
peut  enfin  s'acquerir  des  biens  &  des  honneurs,  ni  par  les  ruses, 
ni  par  les  fausses  apparences  d'une  pi6t6  feinte  &  simul^e. 

It  would  seem  that  the  theory  of  the  rights  of  the  in- 
dividual is  more  a  general  idea  of  protest  than  an  Enghsh 
idea.  That  Vairasse  was  convinced  of  the  inalienable 
and  natural  right  of  man  to  freedom  of  conscience,  free- 
dom from  persecution  and  freedom  from  the  impostures 
of  those  resembUng  Tartufe,  is  evident.  To  say  that  he 
became  convinced  of  these  theories  while  in  England 
would  be  hazardous. 

The  theory  of  ''natural"  law  as  opposed  to  "formal" 
law  is  at  least  as  old  in  France  as  Amyot,  probably  older. 
Calvinists  in  France,  Switzerland,  and  Holland  held 
views  of  freedom  of  conscience  in  rehgion,  as  well  as 
Calvinists  in  England.*^  Vairasse  doubtless  went  to 
England  because  he  had  a  sympathy  for  the  reUgious 
opinions  current  there.  But,  by  the  same  token,  he  must 
have  had  very  similar  ideas  before  going.  Rehgious 
and  political  opinions  overlapped  to  such  an  extent  at 
the  time,  that  it  is  but  a  step  from  the  concept  of  religious 
freedom  to  that  of  poUtical  freedom.  It  is  not  difficult 
to  beheve  that  the  free-thinkers  in  France,  of  both  Prot- 
estant and  Cathohc  antecedents,  passed  from  the  idea 
of  reUgious  freedom  to  that  of  political  freedom  without 
appreciating  any  great  distinction  between  the  two. 

After  showing  the  rationaUstic  processes  by  which  the 
S^arambes  arrive  at  the  conclusion  of  an  unknowable 

pouvoir  se  rihabiliter.  This  sentence  would  be  far  more  applicable 
to  the  Voyages  de  Jacques  Mass^,  of  Tyssot  de  Patot  (Bordeaux, 
1710). 

*•  Pufendorf,  De  jure  naturae  et  gentium,  1672,  is  cited  by  M. 
Lanson  in  this  connection  (R.  C.  C,  1909,  p.  313). 


IN  FRENCH   LITERATURE  127 

God,  as  well  as  a  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
and  after  explaining  the  triple  duty  of  man  to  the  in- 
comprehensible God,  the  Sun,  and  the  native  land  — 
and  with  enthusiasm  —  the  following  conclusion  does 
not  deceive  the  reader: 

C'est  ainsi  que  raisonnent  ces  pauvres  aveugles,  qui  pr^ferent 
les  foibles  lueurs  de  leur  esprit  t^n^breux,  aux  lumi^res  ^clatantes 
de  la  revelation,  &  au  t^moignage  de  la  sainte  ^glise  de  Dieu 
(p.  114). 

Even  without  the  enthusiasm  of  the  rationahstic  ex- 
position, the  following  sentences,  tucked  away  in  the  body 
of  the  argument,  are  too  pointed  to  admit  of  doubting 
Vairasse's  opinions  in  the  matter: 

De  \k  vient  que  si  leur  Religion  n'est  pas  la  plus  veritable  de 
toutes,  elle  est  du  moins  la  plus  conforme  h  la  raison  humaine 
(p.  109). 

S^varias  douta  longtems  s'il  y  avoit  d'autre  Dieu  que  le 
Soleil,  qui  est  le  seul  que  les  anciens  Perses  reconnoissent: 
mais  Giovanni,  son  gouverneur,  qui  6toit  Chretien,  apres  avoir 
en  vain  tdch6  de  le  lui  prouver  par  le  t^moignage  des  saintes 
Ventures,  le  lui  persuada,  &  le  lui  fit  enfin  comprendre  par 
raisonnement  naturel  (p.  110). 

The  satire  of  this  last  quotation  is  too  keen  to  be  passed 
over  without  remark.  evarias  is  represented  as  the 
wisest  of  men,  and  is,  as  stated  before,  "Vairasse"  in  an 
anagram.  That  this  well  educated,  widely  traveled,  and 
intelhgent  man  should  find  the  existence  of  God  possible 
of  belief  because  of  rational  argument  is  natural.  But  that 
the  best  efforts  of  Giovanni  should  fail  to  convince  him  of 
this  truth  by  using  the  Bible  is  open  and  pointed  satire. 

In  addition  to  the  Deism  (and  very  vague  future  life 
theories)  of  the  incas  as  reported  by  Garcilaso,  and  of 
Asiatic  nations  as  reported  by  travelers,  there  were 
other  influences  at  work  on  Vairasse.     It  has  been  seen 


128  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

that  Foigny  —  through  the  words  of  Nicolas  Sadeur  — 
confessoB  to  not  quite  understanding  the  theory  of  trans- 
migration of  souls.  With  Vairasse,  the  theory  is  much 
more  explicit.  The  influence  of  free-thinkers  who  wrote 
earUer  than  1678  is  evident.  The  world-old  theory  of 
transmigration,  defended  by  theosophists  and  poets  in 
many  ages  and  many  lands,  is  clearly  stated  by  Vairasse 
in  reporting  the  opinions  of  the  Sevarambes: 

I'ame  des  Justus,  apr^s  avoir  pass6  en  divers  corps  ou  err^  quel- 
que  temps  dans  les  airs,  soit  dans  I'orbe  ou  nous  sommes,  ou 
dans  quelqu'une  des  Pianettes,  est  enfin  reincorpor^  au  Soleil, 
dont  elle  n'est  qu'un  ^croulement,  &  ...  Ik  elle  trouve  son  repos 
parfait  &  entiere  f^licit^.  Pour  rame  des  m^chans  on  croit 
qu'au  sortir  du  corps  elle  va  occuper  un  autre  dans  des  lieux 
plus  ^loignez  de  la  face  liunineuse  du  Soleil . . .  jusqu'k  venant 
k  s'amander,  elle  approche  toujours  ou  elle  est  enfin  reincorpor^e, 
quand  elle  a  6t6  purg^e  de  ses  vices  ...  lis  ne  croyent  pas  . . . 
que  I'ame  d'un  homme  puisse  passer  dans  le  corps  d'une  b^te. 
(vol.  II,  p.  117). 

The  allegory  of  the  sun  is  still  present,  to  make  less 
hardy  this  plain  statement  of  transmigration.  The  note 
of  evolution  of  the  soul  and  its  progress  toward  perfection 
is  definitely  present  here,  as  in  the  theories  of  earlier 
theosophists.  The  vulgar  idea  of  man's  soul  taking  on 
the  body  of  a  beast,  because  of  sin,  is  rejected  by  Vairasse, 
who  stands  (with  other  enlightened  theosophists)  upon 
the  dignity  of  man,  and  upon  his  essential  difference  from 
the  beast.  Other  free-thinkers  of  the  17th  century 
before  Vairasse  had  expressed  their  feeling  of  the  reality 
of  other  planets,  Cyrano  de  Bergerac  and  his  fantastic 
novels  being  the  best  remembered.  This  astronomical 
vision  flowers  toward  the  end  of  the  17th  century,  bring- 
ing the  planets  within  the  horizon  of  the  average  reader, 
who  had  previously  considered  his  own  world  and  an 
orthodox  hereafter  the  only  field  for  speculation. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  129 

14.   Laws  and  Prayers  of  Sevarias 

The  principal  laws  of  Sevarias,  which  he  left  to  the 
Sivarambes  at  the  time  of  his  death,  and  which  express 
the  theories  of  Vairasse,  are  ten  in  number  (vol.  I,  pp. 
281-283).  Those  regarding  private  property,  useless  oc- 
cupations, education  of  children,  and  the  evils  of  leisure 
may  be  passed  over  as  taken  from  Plato,  More,  Bacon, 
or  Campanella.  Some  of  the  laws,  however,  are  more 
typical  of  Vairasse  and  are  more  stressed  in  the  story: 

1.  De  ne  pas  permettre  de  dignity  h^r^ditaire. 

2.  De  punir  rintemp^rence  en  toutes  choses. 

3.  De  faire  valoir  les  loix  du  mariage  . . .  pour  la  propaga- 
tion de  I'espece. 

4.  De  faire  valoir  la  religion  pour  lier  les  hommes  par  la 
conscience,  leur  persuadant  que  rien  n'est  cach^  k  la  Divinity. 

Natirrally,  hereditary  honors  have  been  called  into 
question  ever  since  man  first  began  to  reason,  and  it 
would  be  futile  to  attempt  an  investigation  of  the  source 
of  Vairasse's  theory  in  this  connection.  The  point  is 
that  he  insists  upon  this  principle  throughout  his  novel. 
The  doctrine  of  temperance  is  another  ancient  precept. 
The  interest  of  Vairasse  in  temperance  is,  however, 
closely  connected  with  his  hatred  of  cehbacy  and  his 
evident  predilection  for  polygamy,  and  the  license  of 
Mohammedan  civiUzation.  With  regard  to  the  third 
principle  enumerated,  De  faire  valoir  les  loix  du  mariage 
.  .  .  pour  la  propagation  de  Vespece  the  point  of  view 
of  Vairasse  is  the  same  as  with  regard  to  temperance. 
Of  course  the  idea  is  not  new  with  Vairasse,  even  in 
the  17th  century.  It  is  found  in  the  Civitas  Solis 
of  Campanella."'     The   idea   of   binding  men   by  con- 

'"  Before  Campanella,  the  idea  of  "generation  to  preserve  the 
race"  is  found  in  St.  Thomas  Aquinas.  In  this  connection  see 
R.  de  Grourmont,  La  cuUvre  des  idies,  Paris,  1900,  p.  210. 


130  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

science  is  a  rational,  not  a  traditional  conception  of 
religion  .^^ 

Besides  the  Laws  of  Sevarias,  there  remains  his  long 
Deistic  prayer,  under  the  title  Oraison  du  grand  Dieu 
(vol.  II,  pp.  218-221).  After  a  list  of  titles  which  the 
Sevarambes  use  in  addressing  the  unknowable  God  — 
nine  titles,  five  beginning  with  "K"  and  all  ending  with 
"as"  —  comes  the  prayer.     Part  of  it  reads  (pp.  218-221) : 

Nous  aveugles  mortels,  qui  vous  entrevoyons  sans  vous  bien 
voir,  qui  vous  connoissons  sans  vous  bien  connoitre,  &  qui 
n^anmoins  croyons  vous  devoir  adorer;  nous  venons  ici  au 
milieu  des  t^nebres  qui  nous  environnent,  pour  vous  rendre  nos 
vcEux  &  nos  hommages.  Toutes  choses  ici  bas  nous  parlent 
jovunellement  de  vous . . .  Dans  cet  humble  sentiment,  nous 
mettons  le  doigt  sur  la  bouche;  &  sans  vouloir  t^m^rairement 
p4n6trer  dans  les  mysteres  profonds  de  votre  divinity,  nous 
nous  contentons  de  vous  adorer  dans  rint^rieur  de  nos  &mes. 

There  is  no  passage  in  Foigny's  novel  that  approaches 
this  prayer  in  style.  Among  other  things  in  this  long 
prayer  is  a  reference  to  the  sun,  the  visible  representa- 
tive of  the  unknown  God,  which  is  doubtless  thrown  in 
for  effect.  The  sun,  and  the  many-breasted  female  idol 
representing  the  native  land  are  brought  in  from  time 
to  time  throughout  the  story,  and  add  an  exotic  and 

"  It  is  to  be  noted  that  an  Histaire  critique  du  vieux  TtslamerU 
of  Richard  Simon  appeared  in  Paris  in  the  same  year  as  the  II* 
Partie  of  the  Sevarambes  (1678).  The  catalogue  of  books  in  the 
Journal  des  Sgavans  for  1677  mentions  both  a  book  Les  Imposteurs 
insignes  and  Du  Ryer's  translation  of  the  Koran  (Ist  ed.,  1647) 
at  Amsterdam.  A  considerable  interest  in  comparative  reUgion  at 
the  time  must  have  furnished  Vairasse  with  many  ideas. 

There  is  considerable  theological  material  which  Vairasse  might 
have  used  in  the  Histoire  de  la  demikre  rivolviion  du  Royaume  du 
Grand  Mogol,  1671,  of  Fran5ois  Bernier,  but  I  cannot  find  any 
positive  trace  of  Vairasse  knowing  this  very  interesting  and 
splendidly  written  account. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  131 

authentic  atmosphere.  The  pleading  of  Vairasse  for  a 
rationalistic  and  Deistic  conception  of  God,  is,  however, 
genuine  and  impassioned. 

15.  Language 

There  is  a  long  and  detailed  account  of  the  language  of 
the  Sevarambes  (pp.  249-269).  It  includes  not  only  a 
complete  treatment  of  the  phonetics,  grammar,  and 
sjmtax  of  the  language,  but  a  consideration  of  theories 
of  versification.  The  history  of  the  language  is  particu- 
larly interesting. 

Sevarias,  on  coming  to  Australia,  finds  a  simple  people, 
(the  Slroukarawbes)  who  had  peu  de  termes,  parce  qu'ils 
n'avoient  que  peu  de  notions  (p.  250).  This  wise  man 
suppressed  certain  unnecessary  words  of  this  simple 
language,  and  to  it  he  added  many  words  for  which  a 
necessity  existed.  He  created  a  language  upon  this 
basis  which  had  ten  vowels  and  thirty  consonants.  As 
an  aid  to  pronunciation,  he  invented  certain  model- 
words,  in  which  the  distinction  between  sounds  would 
be  apparent,  afin  que  les  enfants  apprissent  de  bonne 
heure  a  former  tovies  sortes  d' articulations ,  &  a  rendre 
leur  langue  flexible  &  capable  de  prononcer  tous  les  mots 
(p.  251). 

The  theories  of  Vairasse  on  phonetics  are  definite. 
The  vowels  are  arranged  according  to 

I'ordre  de  la  nature,  commenQant  par  les  voyelles  Gutturales, 
puis  venant  aux  Palatiques,  &  finissant  par  les  Labiales  (p.  252). 

Consonants  are  Primitives  &  Derivees.  The  latter  class 
is  subdivided  into  the  sic?ies  and  the  mmdllies.  Con- 
sonants are  arranged  according  to  another  classification, 
as  GhUturales,  Palatiques,  Nasales,  Gingivales,  Dentales,  & 
Labiales  (p.  253). 


132  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

Whereas  the  spelling  of  the  word  implied  a  knowledge 
of  the  nature  of  the  object  with  Foigny,  the  Sivarambes 

ont  fort  6tudi6  la  nature  des  choses  qu'ils  tdchent  d'exprimer 
par  des  sons  conformes,  ne  se  servant  jamais  de  syllabes  longues 
&  dures  pour  exprimer  des  choses  douces  &  petites  (p.  253). 

Dipthongs  and  tripthongs  exist  in  the  language  of  Sevarias 
to  the  number  of  thirty.  Marks  of  punctuation  are 
used,  not  only  for  questions  and  exclamations  but  pour 
exprimer  la  joye,  la  douleur,  la  colere,  le  doute  (p.  254). 

The  grarmnatical  pedant  that  was  Vairasse  stands 
forth  in  this  sentence  (p.  254): 

Jamais  ils  ne  mettent  le  circonflexe  que  sur  les  lettres  longues 
&  ouvertes,  ny  le  grave  que  siu*  celles  qui  se  prononcent  en 
fermant  la  bouche  &  qui . . .  abaissent  la  voix. 

There  are  three  genders,  as  well  as  a  number  of  termina- 
tions to  denote  large  or  small  size,  pleasant  or  unpleasant 
quaUties.  When  it  is  noted  that  the  verbs  have  each 
three  conjugations,  one  for  mascuUne  subject,  another 
for  feminine  subject,  and  a  third  for  neuter  subject,  the 
simpUcity  seems  to  have  ended,  and  the  comphcations 
to  have  begun.  There  are,  however,  no  irregular  verbs, 
and  having  mastered  one  verb  one  has  mastered  all. 
There  are  verbes  imitatifs,  des  inchoatifs  and  many  others. 
Such  a  verb  as  ermanei,^^  which  means  aymer  un  peu  mais 
joUment  (p.  258),  would  seem  to  be  a  useful  verb  for  the 
polygamous  state  officials. 

With  regard  to  syntax  and  order,  and  their  relation 
one  to  the  other,  Vairasse  considers  the  question  in  its 
large  aspect.  With  the  SSvarambes,  word-endings  are  so 
distinctive,  that  they  arrangerd  leurs  mots  comm£  il  leur 
plait  (p.  267).  This,  he  says,  was  the  ideal  of  classical 
Latin,  although  the  similarity  of  endings  in  that  language 

"  The  inability  of  the  author  to  avoid  altogether  his  own  language 
is  evident.    "Ermanei"  is  simply  "aimer"  plus  "n"  and  "e." 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  133 

made  some  rules  of  arrangement  necessary.  Of  course, 
crude  languages  such  as  those  spoken  in  Europe  cannot 
hope  to  have  the  flexibility  of  the  language  of  Sevarias. 
From  this  point  of  view,  Vairasse  would  seem  to  revere 
the  ancients  as  compared  to  17th  century  French  writers. 
He  is  however,  strongly  opposed  to  rime  and  considers 
it  a  barbarism.     Captain  Siden  says  (p.  262), 

Je  voulus  une  fois  . . .  parler  de  nos  Vers  rimez, . . .  mais  ils 
traiterent  cela  de  ridicule  &  de  barbare,  disant  que  les  rimes  ne 
faisoient  que  g^ner  le  bon  sens  &  la  raison. 

He  goes  on  to  ridicule  the  rime  of  speeches  on  the  stage^ 
and  in  general  all  people  who  rime  their  lives,  their  wills 
and  their  last  words.  As  a  grammarian  and  a  rationalistic 
thinker,  Vairasse  could  not  be  expected  to  be  in  favor  of 
rime. 

Although  the  quarrel  of  the  Ancients  and  Moderns  in 
French  hterature  is  generally  considered  to  have  assumed 
proportions  of  importance  after  1680,  it  will  be  remembered 
that  Desmarets  de  Saint-Sorlin  wrote  his  Defense  de  la 
poesie  et  de  la  langue  frangaise  in  1675.  Likewise  the 
quarrel  over  the  inscription  of  a  triumphal  arch  ^  dates 
from  1676.  It  is  however  interesting  to  find  the  ideas 
of  Vairasse  on  the  subject  of  rimed  verse  to  be  practically 
the  same  as  those  of  La  Motte-Houdar.  Vairasse  was 
publishing  these  ideas  on  the  subject  of  rimed  verse  in 
the  Histoire  des  SSvarambes  (Second  Part)  in  1678-1679, 
when  Antoine  Houdar  de  la  Motte  was  seven  years  of 
age.  The  condenmation  of  rime,  generally  thought  of  as 
an  18th  century  development  of  the  quarrel,  is  present 
in  1679  in  the  Histoire  des  Sivarambes  of  Vairasse." 

**  F.  Charpentier,  Defense  de  la  langue  franQoise  pour  Vinscription 
d'un  arc  de  triomphe,  Paris,  1676,  and  other  works.  See  G.  Lanson, 
Manuel  hibliographique,  Querelle  des  anciens,  etc. 

"  A  long  citation  from  the  Histoire  des  Sivarambes  (princeps 
edition),  dealing  with  rimed  verse,  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 


134  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

16.   Omigas,  the  Imposter 

There  are  forty  pages  in  the  second  volume  of  the 
Histoire  des  Sevarambes  devoted  to  the  deceptions  of 
an  imposter  called  Omigas  by  his  own  following,  and 
Stroukaras  by  the  Sevarambes.  It  was  Omigas  who  led 
the  populace  credule,  super stitieuse,  grossiere,  before  the 
coming  of  Sevarias. 

Nine  of  his  "miracles"  are  recounted: 

1.  He  made  his  face  shine  by  artificial  means. 

2.  He  pretended  to  hold  conversation  with  the  sun. 

3.  He  pretended  that  birds  brought  him  food. 

4.  He  pretended  to  send  eagles  to  heaven  with  messages. 

5.  He  pretended  to  cause  rain  after  a  drought. 

6.  He  used  accomplices  to  carry  out  spurious  cures. 

7.  He  built  a  covering  over  a  pit,  and  pretended  that  the 
earth  had  swallowed  his  enemies  when  he  let  them  down  into 
the  pit  suddenly,  by  allowing  the  covering  to  fall. 

8.  He  pretended  that  he  was  the  son  of  the  Sun. 

9.  He  sealed  a  spring  in  a  rock,  and  then,  by  striking  on 
the  fragile  covering  with  a  staff,  let  the  water  run  out. 

When  the  people  are  informed  of  the  methods  employed 
in  performing  these  miracles,  they  are  indignant  and  for  a 
long  time  refuse  to  believe  them  spurious.  The  cold 
reason  of  Sevarias  does  finally  convince  these  superstitious 
people  of  the  fraud,  however.  The  history  of  Omigas 
or  Stroukaras  occupies  about  forty  pages  (pp.  134-173). 

Follows  a  long  story  of  the  love  of  Dionistar  and 
Ahinom^.  One  of  the  priests  of  the  false  prophet  falls 
in  love  with  the  beautiful  Ahinom6,  and  tries  to  obtain 
her  admission  to  the  temple.  At  this,  she  and  her  lover 
flee: 

II  faloit  61uder  les  desseins  des  Prfitres  l&cifs  qui  vouloient 
faire  d'Ahinom^  un  instrument  de  leur  detestable  luxure  (p.  178). 


IN   FRENCH  LITERATURE  135 

AMnoin^  burns  down  the  temple,  escapes  with  her  lover, 
and  spends  years  with  him  in  a  rocky  fastness.  They 
have  five  children  in  this  seclusion.  The  priests  learn  of 
their  hiding  place,  and  cut  off  their  source  of  suppUes. 
When  the  lovers  are  nearly  starved,  Dionistar  calls  for 
a  discussion,  speaks  to  the  assembled  priests  and 
people,  denounces  the  licentious  conduct  of  the  clergy, 
and  then  commits  suicide.  His  wife  likewise  kills  herself, 
and    dies    with    him,    before  the  others  can    interfere. 

In  the  account  of  Omigas'  life  the  resemblance  to  the 
miracles  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  is  so  great  and 
in  the  tragic  story  of  Dionistar  and  Ahinome  the 
criticism  of  the  priesthood  is  so  virulent,  that  these 
important  parts  of  the  Hisioire  des  Sevarambes  have  been 
omitted  in  some  later  editions.  In  particular,  the  His- 
ioire des  Sevarambes  contained  in  the  large  Bihliotheque 
des  voyages  imaginaires  ^^  lacks  these  two  parts  entirely, 
besides  other  less  important  matters. 

Vairasse  here  again  speaks  definitely  against  revealed 
religion,  against  the  validity  of  miracles,  and  against  the 
privileges  of  the  clergy.  Regardless  of  the  opinions  of 
the  reader,  Vairasse  stands  condemned  of  very  bad  taste 
in  this  part  of  his  novel.  His  condemnation  of  the 
clergy  is  vitriolic  in  its  force,  and  one  man's  bigotry  is  as 
displeasing  as  another's  when  imrestrained. 

17.  Digressions 

Aside  from  the  account  of  Omigas  and  the  story  of 
Dionistar  and  Ahinom^,  there  are  other  digressions  in 
the  second  volume.  One,  dealing  with  a  law-case,  has 
already  been  referred  to.  Another  (pp.  20-36),  treating 
the  love  affairs  of  young  people  in  the  public  schools, 

"  Amsterdam,  1787-1789,  vol.  v.  It  is  this  edition  that  is  cited 
by  M.  Lichtenberger  and  by  M.  Chinard. 


136  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

and  with  the  escapades  of  two  young  men  who  succeed 
in  gaining  admission  to  the  girls'  dormitory,  is  strongly 
reminiscent  of  accounts  of  travelers  to  Mohammedan 
countries.  A  digression,  the  story  of  the  poet  Franoscar 
and  his  lady  Balsim6  (vol.  II,  pp.  257-276),  is  tinged 
with  the  same  Mohammedan  influence.  The  Viceroy  of 
the  Sun  falls  in  love  with  the  lady  and  would  make  her 
one  of  his  wives,  but,  on  learning  that  she  loves  the  poet, 
the  kind  sovereign  renounces  his  rights  to  the  lady's 
hand,  and  treats  both  lovers  bounteously. 

18.  Inventions 

The  invention  of  making  sand  into  fertile  earth  has 
been  mentioned  in  the  part  of  the  story  of  Captain  Siden 
in  which  the  party  first  arrives  at  Sevarinde,  the  capital. 
Two  other  inventions  are: 

des  orgues  d'eau,  meilleures  que  celles  ou  Ton  ne  se  sert  que  du 
vent  (vol.  Hi,  p.  37); 

le  secret  de  fondre  le  cristal,  comme  nous  fondons  le  verre 
(vol.  II,  p.  73). 

19.  The  Return  to  Europe 

After  two  hundred  pages  in  which  there  is  no  mention 
of  Captain  Siden,  and  in  which  there  is  no  attempt  at 
continuity,  the  hero  is  again  brought  in.  The  manner 
of  Captain  Siden's  leaving  the  Austral  land,  and  the 
reasons  given  by  him  for  his  return  to  Europe,  leave 
the  reader  little  respect  for  his  character.  It  was  Siden 
who,  shortly  after  the  shipwreck,  distributed  the  women 
of  the  company.  It  was  Siden,  who  said  of  himself, 
shortly  after  arriving  at  Sevarinde: 

Nous  avions  tons  des  Femmes  &  j'eus  permission  d'en  avoir 
jusques  k  trois,  &  mes  Lieutenants  deux  (vol.  I,  p.  196). 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  137 

Now,  at  the  end  of  the  second  volume,  he  seeks  per- 
mission from  a  member  of  the  comicil  to  retm-n  to  Holland: 

sous  promesse  de  revenir  avec  ma  femme  &  les  enfans  que 
j'avois  laiss^s  en  Hollande,  comme  je  le  lui  faisois  accroire, 
pour  avoir  un  juste  pretexts  de  revenir  en  Europe  (p.  297). 

Captain  Siden  will  be  willing  to  retm-n  to  Sevarinde 
again, 

pour  y  passer  le  reste  de  mes  jours,  quand  j 'aural  satisfait  au 
violent  desir  que  j'ai  de  revoir  ma  Patrie,  &  d'y  prendre  avec 
moi  une  personne  qui  m'est  fort  ch^re,  si  je  la  trouve  encore  en 
vie.  .  .  .  mon  desir  est  d'autant  plus  juste  &  raisonnable, 
qu'outre  les  avantages  de  ce  pays,  j'y  ai  laiss^s  troisfenmies  & 
seize  enfans  .  .  .  que  je  n'aurois  pas  laiss^s  pour  un  moment, 
si  I'envie  de  joindre  k  leur  nombre  le  premier  fruit  de  mes 
amours  ne  m'y  eut  fortement  soUicit^  (pp.  297-298). 

It  is,  of  com-se,  difficult  to  judge  regarding  right  and 
wrong  in  the  case  of  a  man  torn  between  a  loved  one  in 
Europe  and  three  wives  and  over  a  dozen  children  in 
Australia.  The  conscience  of  Captain  Siden  is  a  strangely 
constructed  mechanism.  Speaking  of  his  friend  Calsimas, 
who  aided  him  in  returning  to  Europe,  he  says, 

il  me  permit  de  m'embarquer  secr^tement . . .  apres  m'avoir 
fait  promettre  de  revenir  &  de  ne  point  parler  de  leur  nation 
aux  peuples  de  n6tre  continent  (p.  298). 

The  fact  that  Captain  Siden  (as  explained  in  the  Avis 
au  lecteur  preceding  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes)  died 
before  reaching  home,  relieves  him  from  the  responsibiUty 
of  publishing  the  story  of  the  Sevarambes,  after  having 
promised  to  maintain  silence  about  them.  The  fact  that 
he  is  supposed  to  have  written  some  part  of  it  after  ob- 
taining permission  to  return  to  Europe  is  rather  a  challenge 
to  his  good  intentions. 
The  return  journey,  from  Australia  to  the  coast  of 


138  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

Persia,  takes  sixty-eight  days.  There  are  no  details  of 
the  trip,  not  even  the  direction  being  indicated.  Pre- 
vious mention  has  been  made  of  Captain  Siden's  passing 
through  Hispahan,  ville  capitale  de  la  Perse  (p.  301), 
and  of  his  death  from  wounds  received  just  before 
reaching  Holland. 

20.  Conclusion 

This  Extraordinary  Voyage  is  based  for  its  realistic 
beginning  directly  upon  the  account  of  Captain  Pelsart's 
shipwreck  on  the  coast  of  Australia.  The  atmosphere 
of  the  imaginary  society  described  is  Mohammedan, 
polygamy  and  an  interest  in  adventures  of  an  amorous 
nature  being  salient  features  of  it. 

The  religion  of  the  Sevarambes  is  Deism,  with  external 
features  resembling  the  religion  of  the  Incas  as  reported 
by  Beaudoin's  translation  of  Garcilaso,  as  well  as  of  the 
idols  of  the  Tartars  as  reported  by  Marco  Polo  and  Pierre 
Bergeron.  A  satire  of  the  miracles  of  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  is  found  in  the  long  digression  concerning 
the  im poster  Omigas  The  priesthood  of  Europe  is 
criticized  in  the  story  of  the  love  of  Dicnistar  and 
Ahinom^. 

The  government  of  the  country  is  despotic,  but  the 
despot  is  elected  democratically.  The  despot  is  re- 
sponsible, through  his  representatives,  for  the  feeding, 
clothing,  and  housing  of  his  subjects. 

EquaUty  of  education,  of  clothing,  of  lodging,  and  of 
food  is  required  by  law.  Marriage  is  compulsory.  Chil- 
dren are  educated  and  housed  in  public  schools  from  the 
age  of  seven.  Military  service  is  obligatory  for  both 
sexes.  Work  on  the  land  is  required  of  all  children  until 
they  demonstrate  their  fitness  for  higher  types  of  labor. 
State  ofiicials  are  permitted  to  have  plural  wives.     Others 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  139 

are  limited  to  one  wife.    The  clergy  are  not  exempted 
from  civic  duties. 

The  language  of  the  country  is  a  "created"  language, 
and  is  based  on  logical  principles  rather  than  on  tradition. 
Rimed  verse  is  not  in  use,  and  is  considered  barbaric. ^^ 

"  A  long  citation  relative  to  rimed  verse  from  the  princeps 
edition  (1678-1679)  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix. 


CHAPTER  VI 
A  POLITICAL  SATIRE  AND  TWO  TRANSLATIONS 

1.  Ulh  de  Bornk),  of  Fontenelle. 

2.  Le  Philosophe  Autodidacte,  of  Ibn  Thofail. 

3.  Le  Criticon,  of  Baltasar  Gracidn. 

1.  L'Ile  de  Borneo 

In  Bayle's  Nouvelles  de  la  Ripubligiie  des  Lettres,  in 
January  1686,  there  appeared  the  youthful  Fontenelle's 
Relation  de  Vile  de  Borneo.  This  short  account  (five 
12mo.  pages),  purporting  to  have  been  written  from 
Batavia,  and  contained  in  a  letter  from  Fontenelle  to 
M.  Basnage  at  Rotterdam,  was  a  thinly  veiled  satire  of 
the  religious  disputes  in  France  at  the  time.  Coming 
on  the  heels  of  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes 
the  names  of  the  characters  "Mreo"  and  "Eenegu" 
were  easily  transposed  by  the  reader  to  "Rome"  and 
"Geneve,"  and  by  analogy  to  "CathoUcism"  and  "Protes- 
tantism." The  "Borneo"  of  this  brief  account  is  simply 
France  under  another  name,  and  offers  no  virtues  to  be 
imitated  by  the  French. 

This  satirical  Relation  is  mentioned  here  to  show  clearly 
the  difference  both  in  purpose  and  form  between  this  tjrpe 
of  satire  and  the  novel  of  Extraordinary  Voyage. 

2.   Le  Philosophe  Autodidacte 

Another  sort  of  imaginative  work  known  in  France 
before  1700,  but  of  foreign  authorship,  is  the  Hayy  ben 
Yaqdhan  of  Ibn  Thofail,  —  a  gifted  Moslem  author  bom 

140 


THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE  141 

in  Guadix,  near  Granada,  about  1110.  M.  Lanson '  has 
mentioned  an  analysis  of  this  work  in  the  Bibliothique 
universelle  for  1686,  under  the  title  Le  Philosophe  avtodi- 
dacte.  There  is  a  history  of  the  pubHcation  of  this  novel 
in  the  work  of  M.  L.  Gauthier.^  Those  wishing  to  read 
the  Hayy  hen  Yaqdhan  carefully  published  in  French  are 
referred  to  the  translation  of  M.  Gauthier,  published  at 
Algiers  in  1910. 

The  novel  is  the  life  story  of  Haj^  ben  Yaqdhan,  who 
grows  from  infancy  to  manhood  upon  a  desert  island  with- 
out human  companionship  or  instruction.  Hayy  dis- 
covers by  native  intelligence  not  only  the  laws  of  physical 
things  but  also  the  mysteries  of  esoteric  religion.  Upon 
learning  human  speech  from  a  man  who  chances  to  visit 
the  island,  Hayy  attempts  to  convey  a  knowledge  of  these 
mysteries  to  the  inhabitants  of  a  neighboring  land.  Find- 
ing this  task  impossible  of  execution,  he  returns  to  his 
island  to  pass  the  remainder  of  his  life  in  contemplation. 

The  inherent  virtue  of  uninstructed  man  —  the  "primi- 
tive man"  of  years  later  —  is  extolled  in  this  novel  of 
amazingly  wide  philosophic  scope.  Translations  and 
analyses  of  the  Hayy  hen  Yaqdhan,  although  known  in 
France  before  1700,  seem  to  have  had  no  influence  on 
the  French  novel  imtil  after  the  end  of  the  century.' 

3.  Le  Criticon 

A  translation  of  the  Criticon  of  Baltasar  Gracidn  (1585- 
1658)  appeared  in  France  in  1696.*    It  contained  only 

1  Origines  et  -premibres  manifestations  de  I'esprit  philoaophique, 
Revue  des  Courn  el  Conferences,  1909. 

*  Ibn  Thofail,  sa  vie,  ses  anivres.     Paris,  1909. 

*  For  importance  in  English  Literature,  cf.  Martha  P.  Conant, 
The  Oriental  Tale  in  England  in  the  18th  Century,  New  York,  1908. 

*  L'homme  detrompe,  ou  le  Criticon,  transl  Maunory  (first  Part 
only). 


142  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

the  first  part  of  this  novel,  the  complete  translation 
appearing  only  after  the  beginning  of  the  18th  Century.* 

Ihe  first  part  of  the  Criticon  is  very  similar  to  the 
Philosophe  aviodidacte  originally  written  by  Ibn  Thofail. 
Seiior  D.  Mareelino  Men^ndez  y  Pelayo,  in  the  Prdlogo  of 
El  Filosofo  autodidacto  de  Abentofail,^  remarks  the  evident 
indebtedness  of  Gracidn  to  the  Arabic  novel,  and  laments 
the  fact  that  the  source  of  his  knowledge  of  the  earlier 
work  is  unknown. 

The  Criticon  opens  with  the  arrival  at  the  island  of 
Saint  Helena  of  Critilo  the  lone  survivor  of  a  shipwreck. 
Having  come  ashore,  this  man  tries  to  speak  with  a  youth, 
Andrenio,  who  Uke  Hayy  ben  Yaqdhan  has  grown  to 
manhood  without  knowledge  of  human  speeches.  Having 
learned  to  talk,  Andrenio  shows  that  he  has  formed  his 
own  concepts  of  the  world,  that  he  has  conceived  unaided 
the  idea  of  a  Deity  and,  in  addition,  a  love  for  this  Deity 
as  manifested  in  nature.  Here,  as  in  the  earher  Arabic 
novel,  is  a  vindication  of  the  inherent  virtue  and  wisdom 
of  un corrupted  man.  tt  is  in  the  stressing  of  moral  rather 
than  philosophical  considerations  that  Gracidn  differs 
most  markedly  from  his  predecessor.^ 

The  work  of  this  moralist  has  long  been  recognized  as 
having  an  influence  on  the  character  of  Man  Friday  in  the 
Robinson  Crusoe.  Apparently  no  influence  was  exerted  on 
17th  century  French  writers  by  translations  of  Gracidn  and 
Ibn  Thofail.  In  1708,  however,  there  appears  a  French 
novel,  of  the  desert  island  type,  strangely  like  the 
Robinson  story  of  years  later.  ^     It  happens  that  Defoe 

*  L'homme  universel,  transl.  P.  de  Courbeville,  1723. 

»  Zaragoza,  1900. 

'  Cf .  Ernest  Seillidre,  Un  grand  mcraliate  oublU:  BaUhasar  Gracidn, 
Insiitui  de  France.  Acad.  d.  sci.  mor.  et  polit.  Siances  it  travaux,  n.  s. 
V.  73,  pp.  474-492. 

'  Les  Voyages  et  aventures  de  Francois  Leguat  et  de  S's  compagnons, 
London,  1708.    This  strange  book,  whose  reaUstic  setting  is  taken 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  143 

was  a  man  of  genius  and  that  the  French  author  of 
years  earlier  was  a  mediocre  writer.  But  the  novel  of 
a  contemplative  hfe  on  a  desert  island  appears  to  have 
been  influenced,  both  in  English  and  in  French  Litera- 
ture of  the  18th  century  by  translations  of  the  works  of 
Thofail  and  of  Gracidn. 

from  French  Relations  de  Voyages,  is  definitely  a  French  creation. 
It  was  translated  into  EngUsh  and  published  at  London  in  the  same 
year  that  it  appeared  in  French.  Copies  of  both  the  English  and 
French  versions  are  in  the  British  Museum.  The  study  of  this 
novel  will  be  undertaken  by  the  present  author  in  another  vol- 
ume on  the  Extraordinary  Voyage  in  French  Literature  after  1700. 


CHAPTER  VII 
LES   AVENTURES  DE  T&L&MAQUE  OF  FfiNELON 

1.  The  Extraordinary  Voyage. 

2.  The  Ideal  State. 

3.  The  Reformed  State. 

4.  General  Concepts. 

5.  Conclusion. 

1.  The  Extraordinary  Voyage 

F^nelon  is  the  only  great  author  of  the  17th  century 
who  wrote  a  novel  of  the  type  of  the  Extraordinary  Voyage. 
The  Aventures  de  TeUmague  ^  has  been  considered  from 
so  many  points  of  view,  by  so  many  able  critics,  that 
for  the  present  study  there  remains  only  to  classify  it 
with  relation  to  other  novels  of  Extraordinary  Voyage. 
Although  in  spirit  a  didactic  poem,  this  work  has  the 
form  of  a  novel,  and  presents  many  of  the  characteristics 
of  an  Extraordinary  Voyage  as  here  defined.  If  it  be 
admitted  that  the  travels  by  land  and  sea  of  young 
T^l^maque  are  made  to  countries  which  exist,  but  of 
whose  civilization  at  the  epoch  of  these  travels  Uttle  is 
known,  then  this  novel  falls  within  the  definition  given. 
Although  Minerva,  in  the  guise  of  Mentor,  accompanies 
T^l^maque  in  a  great  part  of  his  travels,  these  travels  are 
made  by  means  which  are  possible.    There  is  nothing 

*  Paris,  1699.  The  history  of  the  publication  of  the  Tdimaqut  by 
Fdnelon,  the  object  of  its  composition  for  the  education  of  the  due 
de  Bourgogne,  and  the  events  following  its  publication,  are  too  well 
known  to  require  extended  treatment  here.  The  bibliography  of  the 
subject  is  contained  in  the  Manvel  bibliographique  of  M   Lanson. 

144 


THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE  145 

marvelous  or  fantastic  in  these  means  themselves.  With 
regard  to  the  descent  of  Tel^maque,  while  still  aUve,  into 
Hades  (Livre  mv),  it  can  only  be  said  that  this  jom-ney 
is  reported  to  have  been  made  by  other  Hving  heroes 
belonging  to  the  same  epoch  of  history  as  T^l^maque. 
To  attempt  to  prove  authenticated  realism  in  the  Aven- 
tures  de  Telemaque  would  be  futile.  However,  once  in 
the  atmosphere  of  ancient  Greece  which  permeates  the 
book,  there  is  no  striking  lack  of  consistency,  as  far  as 
the  story  itself  is  concerned. 

Transparent  references  to  society  in  Europe  on  the  part 
of  the  author  do  tend  to  spoil  the  illusion,  it  is  true.  But 
it  is  by  this  very  polemic  element  that  the  Aventures  de 
Telemaque  is  bound  to  the  other  Extraordinary  Voyages. 
Whereas  the  novels  of  Foigny  and  Vairasse  have  only 
infrequent  passages  showing  any  beauty  of  style,  and 
whereas  beauty  of  style  is  a  saUent  characteristic  of  the 
work  of  F^nelon,  the  Telemaque  suffers  from  the  same 
desire  to  preach  on  the  part  of  its  author  that  has  been 
noted  in  the  earUer  novels  of  the  type.  Here,  as  in  other 
Extraordinary  Voyages,  the  adventures  of  the  hero  are 
merely  the  medium  in  which  is  borne  the  political,  social, 
and  philosophical  content.  This  content  does  not  come 
naturally  from  the  events  of  the  story,  but  rather  directly 
from  the  mind  of  the  author.  That  Fenelon's  hero 
travels  through  the  ancient  world  of  the  Eastern  Mediter- 
ranean instead  of  the  new  worlds  of  Australasia,  that 
these  travels  are  told  in  a  style  that  is  lofty  and  poetic 
instead  of  rough  and  virile,  distinguishes  this  novel  from 
its  predecessors  of  the  same  general  type.  But  the 
rationahsm  of  F^nelon,  his  hatred  of  the  abuse  of  power, 
his  convictions  concerning  the  ideal  state  and  its  de- 
pendence both  upon  agriculture  and  the  absence  of  luxury, 
all  these  conceptions  bind  the  TSlemaqne  not  only  to  the 
Terre  australe  connue  and  to  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes, 


146  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

but  also  to  the  mass  of  similar  writings  which  follow  in 
the  18th  century. 

The  ability  of  F^nelon  to  couch  his  personal  ideas  in 
a  style  that  was  pleasing,  together  with  his  prominent 
position  at  court,  gave  his  novel  a  much  greater  in- 
fluence than  that  enjoyed  by  the  other  Extraordinary 
Voyages  of  the  17th  century.  Because  of  these  two  factors, 
the  Telemaque  is  read  —  wiUingly  or  imwiUingly  —  by  a 
great  many  people  to  this  day.  It  continues  to  be  read 
at  the  present  time  rather  in  spite  of  its  polemic  element 
than  because  of  it.  On  the  other  hand,  Foigny  and 
Vairasse,  lacking  both  the  social  position  of  F^nelon 
and  his  genius  for  expression,  had  a  limited  public  for 
such  time  as  their  ideas  retained  the  interest  that  comes 
of  novelty.  They  were  read  because  of  their  rationalistic 
and  adventurous  elements,  and  rather  in  spite  of  their 
style  than  because  of  it.  When  the  interest  in  such  ideas 
became  more  widespread,  the  increased  pubUc  turned  by 
preference  to  more  artistically  constructed  works,  written 
by  men  of  greater  genius  in  expression. 

M.  Le  Breton  has  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
TiUmaque  appeared  more  like  a  novel  to  a  17th  century 
public  than  it  does  to  modern  readers.*  He  hkewise 
traces  an  element  of  adventure  common  to  the  school  of 
d'Urf6  and  to  this  novel  of  F^nelon.'  M.  Chinard  has 
noted  a  general  similarity  between  the  adventures  of  this 
Greek  hero  and  the  heroes  of  exotic  novels  and  accounts 
of  exploration  and  adventure  beyond  the  seas.*  It  is 
of  course  easy  to  feel  in  this  novel  the  influence  not  only 
of  the  Greek  epic  but  of  the  Italian  and  Spanish  pastoral. 
Although  the  art  of  F^nelon  would  tend  to  produce  an  op- 
posite impression  on  the  average  reader,  it  is  strange  when 
one  has  read  a  large  number  of  17th  century  accounts  of 

*  Le  Roman  au  xviii '  aihile,  p.  2.  *  Ibid.,  p.  8. 

*  L'Am&rique  et  le  rive  exotique,  pp.  215  et  seq. 


IN   FRENCH   LITERATURE  147 

adventure  and  discovery  in  new  continents,  how  much 
at  home  one  feels  in  reading  the  Telemaqne.  That 
anything  more  than  shght  traces  of  other  books  of  travel 
should  be  found  in  the  TeUmaque  is  not  to  be  expected. 
In  the  case  of  Fenelon,  it  is  not  a  question,  as  it  was 
with  his  predecessors,  of  determining  the  indebtedness  of 
the  author  to  this  or  that  account  of  travel  in  far  lands. 
It  is  almost  enough  to  indicate  the  shipwrecks,  the 
description  of  the  port  of  Tyre  (Livre  iii),  with  its 
breakwaters,  shipyards,  polyglot  population  and  bustle 
of  trade,  together  with  the  clearing  of  land  for  agricul- 
ture in  several  kingdoms,  which  savors  of  new  countries 
rather  than  of  old.^ 

There  is  no  necessity  for  analysis  of  so  well  known  a 
story  as  the  Aventures  de  TeUmaque.  Neither  does  the 
mythology  involved,  and  the  supernatural  appearance 
of  gods  to  men  in  the  novel  need  to  be  insisted  upon. 
It  would  be  useless,  hkewise,  to  point  out  the  numerous 
cases  in  which  Fenelon  calls  attention  to  the  virtues  or 
vices  of  this  or  that  King  for  the  enlightenment  of  the 
due  de  Bourgogne.  There  are  two  main  elements  of  the 
book,  however,  which  are  worthy  of  careful  considera- 
tion here.     These  are: 

1.  The  presentation  of  two  states  {La  Bitique  and  Salente), 
the  one  ideal,  the  other  practical. 

2.  General  considerations  as  to  royalty  and  absolute  power, 
theories  of  government,  wisdom  and  efl&cacy  of  laws,  property, 
rights  of  citizens,  and  Natm-e. 

2.  The  Ideal  State 

An  ideal  commonwealth,  La  Betigue  (Livre  vii)  is  re- 
ported by  Adoam  to  T^lemaque.  The  travelers  never 
see  it  themselves,  but  learn  of  its  charms  from  a  man 

'  A  slightly  more  detailed  imitation  of  the  accounts  of  American 
Indians  will  be  found  in  the  discussion  of  La  Bitique  which  follows. 


148  IHE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

who  follows  the  sea.  This  ideal  State  is  a  reflection  of 
other  ideal  commonwealths  as  reported  by  More,  Bacon, 
Campanella  and  others,  with  certain  extensive  modi- 
fications. The  climate  of  this  happy  land  is  equable. 
Money  is  not  in  use.  The  inhabitants  are  cut  off  from 
other  nations,  on  one  side  by  high  mountains,  on  the 
other  by  the  sea.  No  other  people  has  conquered  them, 
for  they  prefer  hberty  to  life.  They  never  have  wars 
with  other  lands.  They  are  cordial  to  strangers,  but 
have  no  desire  to  travel  and  to  become  acquainted  with 
other  lands.  The  inhabitants  of  La  Betique  gladly 
allow  strangers  to  work  mines  in  their  country,  but  prefer 
for  themselves  the  fruits  of  the  earth's  surface  to  the 
gold  and  silver  to  be  found  beneath.  Practically  all  the 
inhabitants  are  either  tillers  of  the  soil  or  shepherds. 
They  have  no  cities,  no  buildings,  no  building  trades; 
they  are  not  attached  to  any  material  things.  Having 
no  houses,  they  live  like  the  nomads  of  the  deserts  or 
rather  hke  the  American  Indians,  having  for  residences: 

des  tentes,  dont  les  unes  sont  de  peaux  cir^es  et  les  autres  d'^corces 
d'arbres  (Livre  vii,  p.  143). ' 

Tous  les  biens  sont  communs  (p.  145). 

lis  sont  tous  libres  et  ^gaux  (p.  145). 

Chaque  famille,  errante  dans  ce  beau  pays,  transporte  ses 
tentes  d'un  lieu  en  un  autre,  quand  elle  a  consume  les  fruits 
et  ^puis^  les  p^turages  de  I'endroit  oil  elle  s'^tait  mise  (p.  145). 

Again  like  the  American  Indians,  it  is  the  women  who  do 
a  good  share  of  the  work;  particularly  the  making  of 
shoes  is  the  work  of  women: 

Elles  emploient  le  cuir  de  leurs  moutons  k  faire  une  l^g^re 
chaussure  pour  elles,  pour  leurs  maris,  et  pour  leurs  enfants 
(p.  143). 

*  References  are  to  Aventures  de  TiUmaque,  ed.  Didot  FrSres, 
Paris,  1859. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  149 

M.  Chinard  has  indicated  '  the  similarity  of  the  civili- 
zation in  La  Betique  to  that  of  the  American  Indians  as 
reported  by  the  missionaries  in  Brazil  and  in  Canada. 
What  is  perhaps  as  important  as  this  midoubted  in- 
debtedness on  the  part  of  F^nelon  is  the  difference 
between  this  ideal  state  and  ideal  states  of  earlier  authors. 
The  people  of  La  Betique  have  no  institutionalized  society, 
no  slaves,  no  wars,  no  mines,  no  interest  in  wealth  or 
material  things.  This  serves  to  differentiate  them  from 
all  imaginary  peoples  previously  reported  to  have  been 
found.  Foigny  succeeded  in  imagining  a  society  free 
of  slaves,  and  free  from  almost  all  interest  in  material 
things  —  but  wars  existed  even  in  the  Australia  of  the 
bisexual  brothers.  The  Betique  of  F^nelon  is  by  far  the 
most  complete  and  consistent  account  of  a  colony  of 
simple,  peace-loving,  free-and-equal  people.  Here  is  no 
institutionaHsm.  Nothing  of  the  earth,  nothing  of  pas- 
sion, hate,  fear,  or  ambition  renders  these  divinely  happy 
people  similar  to  other  human  beings. 

The  question  naturally  arises:  How  did  these  people 
attain  this  unearthly  virtue?  The  answer  is  not  far  to 
seek;  but  that  it  should  come  from  an  ecclesiastic,  and 
before  1700,  is  striking. 

Ces  hommes  sages  . . .  n'ont  appris  la  sagesse  qu'en  ^tudiant 
la  simple  nature  (p.  144). 

T^l^maque  . . .  se  r^jouissait  qu'il  y  eAt  encore  au  monde  un 
peuple,  qui,  suivant  la  droite  nature,  fAt  si  sage  et  si  heureux 
tout  ensemble  . . .  Nous  sommes  tellement  g^t^,  qu'^  peine 
pouvons-nous  croire  que  cette  simplicity  si  naturelle  puisse  etre 
veritable.  Nous  regardons  les  moeurs  de  ce  peuple  comme  une 
belle  fable,  et  il  doit  regarder  les  ndtres  comme  un  songe  mons- 
trueux  (p.  150). 

It  has  been  seen  that  Foigny's  Australians  did  not  sin 
in  Adam,  and  that  therefore  his  novel  was  considered 
"  L'Amiriqv£  et  le  r&ve  exotique,  pp.  216-217. 


150  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

sacrilegious.  The  general  pagan  atmosphere  of  the 
TMemaque  throws  one  off  the  scent  in  this  regard. 
The  fact  remains  that  by  following,  unenhghtened,  "la 
droite  nature,"  and  by  studying,  unenhghtened,  "la 
simple  nature,"  these  people  have  maintained  an  origi- 
nal perfection  unknown  not  only  in  ancient  Greece,  but 
also  in  17th  century  France.  Here  in  1699  are  the  full- 
blown "good  savage"  of  the  18th  century  and  the  poetic, 
nomadic  Indians  of  Chateaubriand. 


3.  The  Reformed  State 

In  the  Kingdom  of  Salente  (Livres  x,  xi,  xvii)  is  a  dif- 
ferent concept  from  that  found  in  La  Betique.  The  realm 
of  King  Idomen^e,  Salente,  being  in  many  ways  similar 
to  European  communities  of  the  17th  century,  is  in  need 
of  reform  in  order  that  it  may  become  more  perfect. 
The  reforms  are  effected  and  the  results  noted.  This  is 
distinctly  new  in  one  sense. 

In  the  Terre  australe  connue  of  Foigny,  in  the  Utopia 
of  More,  the  Nova  Atlantis  of  Bacon,  the  Civitas  Solis  of 
Campanella,  a  gradual  process  of  development  has  taken 
place.  At  the  time  of  the  visit  of  the  explorer,  the  per- 
fected civiUzation  is  a  fact  of  long  standing.  In  the 
Histoire  des  Yncas  of  Garcilaso  and  in  the  Histoire  des 
S^varambes  a  high  type  of  civilization  is  reported  to  have 
been  developed  by  a  wise  leader  and  his  followers.  But 
in  these  two  cases  the  wise  man  came  into  a  barbarous 
country  where  practically  everything  remained  to  be 
done,  and  where  no  traditions  opposed  the  installation 
of  the  new  way  of  hving.  In  Salente,  it  is  a  case  of  re- 
forming a  fairly  high  type  of  civiUzation  which  already 
exists.  This  is  a  striking  novelty.  Other  imaginary 
lands  in  which  the  people  have  faults,  vices,  and  suffering 
have  been  presented  satirically.    Such  are  Les  Herma- 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  151 

phrodites  of  Thomas  Artus  and  the  Relation  de  Vile  de 
Borneo  of  Fontenelle.  In  the  Salente  of  F^nelon,  occurs 
for  the  first  time  synthetic  criticism  of  society,  sug- 
gestion of  reforms,  practice  of  reforms  with  the  re- 
sults demonstrated.  The  idea  of  progress  is  definitely 
present. 

In  the  history  of  the  reforms  carried  out  in  Salente, 
(Livres  x,  xi)  it  is  not  a  question  of  an  unbeUevable  king- 
dom of  the  imagination.  Mentor  suggests  to  Idom^n^e  one 
reform  after  another  to  lead  his  people  to  virtue.  Social, 
legal,  and  educational  remedies  are  suggested  for  existing 
evils.  These  are  put  into  practice.  Later  (Livre  xvii), 
when  T^l^maque  returns  to  Salente,  he  cannot  beUeve 
his  eyes.  In  a  short  time  the  reforms  have  been  carried 
out.  T^16maque  remarks  the  simpHfied  Hfe  of  the  people, 
the  lack  of  useless  ornaments  and  luxury  of  all  sorts  in 
the  city,  and  the  flourishing  condition  of  the  surrounding 
country  districts.  Mentor  explains  to  him  in  detail  this 
remarkable  change,  but  the  most  striking  amelioration 
is  that  resulting  from  the  return  to  the  land: 

Tout  le  pays  n'est  qu'une  seule  ville;  Salente  n'en  est  que  le 
centre.  Nous  avons  transports  de  la  ville  dans  la  campagne 
les  hommes  qui  manquaient  k  la  campagne,  et  qui  Staient 
superflus  dans  la  ville.  De  plus,  nous  avons  attirS  dans  ce  pays 
beaucoup  de  peuples  Strangers.  On  n'a  rejetS  de  cette  ville 
que  les  arts  superflus,  qui  dStournent  les  pauvres  de  la  culture 
de  la  terre  pour  les  vrais  besoins,  et  qui  corrompent  les  riches 
en  les  jetant  dans  le  faste  et  dans  la  moUesse;  mais  nous  n'avons 
fait  aucun  tort  aux  beaux-arts,  ni  aux  hommes  qui  ont  un  vrai 
gSnie  pour  les  cultiver  (pp.  392-393,  Livre  xvii). 

A  striking  sentence  of  Mentor  is  that  dealing  with  the 
past  magnificence  and  pomp  of  the  court  of  IdomSnSe: 

Get  Sclat  Sblouissant  cachait  une  faiblesse  et  une  mis^re  qui 
eussent  bientot  renversS  son  empire  (p.  393). 


152  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

In  books  X,  xi,  and  xvii  occurs  the  welding,  thanks 
to  the  idea  of  progress,  of  two  elements  in  Uterature 
that  had  long  remained  separated:  the  destructive  satire 
and  the  far-off  Utopia.  Regardless  of  Fenelon's  intentions, 
and  whether  or  not  satire  of  Louis  XIV  is  intended,  there 
is  here  a  demonstrated  reform  of  a  society  not  unlike 
that  found  in  France  toward  1700.  Uniform  clothing 
according  to  rank  and  other  external  features  borrowed 
from  preexistent  Utopias  are  found  to  be  sure,  but  the 
indirect  suggestion  by  example  of  the  earher  ideal  accounts 
is  left  far  behind.  Such  radical  changes  as  abolishing 
private  property  and  money  are  not  attempted.  Only 
remedies  which  seem  practical  are  suggested.  The  reader 
of  the  three  books  dealing  with  Salente  in  the  Aventures  de 
TeUmaque  is  informed  of  remedies  which  will  change  evil 
conditions,  such  as  exist  in  France,  and  is  permitted  to 
see  the  practical  prosecution  of  these  reforms,  and  the 
results  of  their  application  in  Salente. 

F^nelon  was  not  alone  in  having  ideas  of  reform  at 
this  date  (1699).  Colbert  had  died  in  disgrace  sixteen 
years  before,  and  the  extravagance,  wars,  and  persecu- 
tions of  the  years  following  his  death  doubtless  caused 
many  to  think  seriously  upon  the  matter  of  state  ex- 
penditures and  their  relation  to  taxation.  There  also 
comes  in  the  last  twenty  years  of  the  17th  century  a 
well  defined  feeUng  that  the  masses  are  imposed  upon 
for  the  benefit  of  the  few.  These  sentiments  find  expres- 
sion after  the  end  of  the  17th  century,  in  the  Pro  jet  de 
dime  royale  of  Vauban^  and  in  many  other  protests.' 

«  1707. 

"  For  general  aspects  of  this  spirit  of  dissatisfaction  in  France 
before  1700,  see  G.  Lanson,  Histoire  de  la  litl^alure  frangaise  {Les 
origines  du  xviii'  sikcle),  and  Le  rdle  de  V experience  dans  la  formation 
de  la  philosophie  du  xviii*  sikde  en  France.  Revue  du  Mois,  1910. 
Also  J.  Delvaille,  Essai  sur  Vhistoire  de  I'idie  de  progres,  Paris,  1910, 
pp.  245-247. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  153 

Doubtless  the  ideas  referred  to  were  shared  by  F^nelon 
with  many  others  at  the  time  the  Telemague  was  written. 

4.  General  Concepts 

That  a  man  of  the  culture  of  Fenelon  should  have  had 
many  ideas,  and  ideas  of  a  general  philosophic  nature,  is 
only  natural.  His  genius  however  lay  in  his  ability  to 
formulate  these  ideas  in  words,  and  more  particularly  to 
state  them  in  epigrammatic  form.  One  source  of  F^ 
nelon's  influence  must  be  sought  in  these  epigramjnatic 
statements,  which  lend  themselves  to  quotation  and 
which  are  therefore  remembered  after  the  details  in- 
volved in  the  particular  work  are  forgotten.  This  same 
abihty  to  express  general  concepts  in  terse  form  is  a 
characteristic  not  only  of  Fenelon,  but  of  many  other 
writers  of  his  epoch.  It  may  be  said  in  passing  that  La 
Rochefoucauld  Uves  to  this  day  because  of  this  one 
quality.  Epigrammatic  abihty  of  expression  on  the  part 
of  Fenelon  causes  one  to  remember  to-day  the  statement 
of  Socrates  to  Alcibiades:  ^"^ 

Le  droit  de  conquete  est  un  droit  moins  fort  que  celui  de 

I'humanit^. 

The  Telemaque  shares  with  the  Dialogues  des  Marts 
this  richness  in  epigrams,  and  was  therefore  a  particularly 
forceful  novel  of  social  criticism.  It  is  worth  while  there- 
fore to  consider  some  of  these  in  the  Telemague,  and  to 
divide  them  into  classes. 

1.    Royalty 

Quiconque  est  capable  de  mentir  est  indigne  d'etre  compt6 
au  nombre  des  hommes;  et  quiconque  ne  sait  pas  se  taire  est 
indigne  de  gouverner  (L.  iii,  p.  39). 

*"  Dialogues  des  Morts,  Socrate  et  Aldbiade. 


154  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

Nous  regardions  avec  horreur  un  roi  livr6  k  I'avarice  et  k  la 
volupt^  (L.  iii,  p.  54). 

Le  roi  ne  doit  rien  avoir  au-dessus  des  autres,  except^  ce  qui  est 
n^cessaire,  ou  pour  le  soulager  dans  ses  p^nibles  fonctions,  ou 
pour  imprimer  aux  peuples  le  respect  (L.  v,  p.  77) . 

Le  plus  malheureux  de  tous  les  homines  est  un  roi  qui  croit 
dtre  heureux  en  rendant  les  autres  honunes  mis^rables  (L.  v, 
p.  87). 

Un  roi  entiSrement  toum6  k  la  guerre  voudroit  tou jours  la  faire: 
pour  ^tendre  sa  domination  et  sa  gloire  propre,  il  ruinerait  ses 
peuples  (L.  v,  pp.  88-89). 

Un  conqu6rant  est  un  homme  que  les  dieux,  irrit^s  contre  le 
genre  humain,  ont  donn6  k  la  terre  dans  leur  colore  . . .  (L.  vii, 
p.  146). 

Heureux  celui  qui  n'^tant  point  esclave  d'autrui,  n'a  point 
la  foUe  ambition  de  faire  d'autrui  son  esclave  (L.  vii,  p.  146). 

Mais  c'est  I'autorit^  qui  met  tous  les  talents  k  une  rude  ^preuve, 
et  qui  d^couvre  de  grands  d^fauts  (L.  x,  p.  209). 

Un  roi,  quelque  bon  et  sage  qu'il  soit,  est  encore  homme.  Son 
esprit  a  des  bornes,  et  sa  vertu  en  a  aussi  (L.  x,  p.  210), 

les  pays  oil  la  domination  du  souverain  est  plus  absolue  sont 
ceux  oil  les  souverains  sont  moins  puissants  . . .  Le  roi,  qui  ne 
pent  etre  roi  tout  seul  et  qui  n'est  grand  que  par  ses  peuples, 
s'an^antit  lui-meme  peu  k  peu  par  I'an^antissement  des  peuples 
. . .  Le  m^pris,  la  haine,  le  ressentiment,  la  defiance  .  . .  toutes 
les  passions  se  r^unissent  contre  une  autorit^  si  odieuse  (L.  x, 
p.  227). 

leur  excessive  magnificence  fondle  sur  la  mine  des  peuples  . . . 
leur  cruaut4  qui  cherche  chaque  jour  de  nouvelles  d^lices 
parmi  les  larmes  et  le  d^sespoir  de  tant  de  malheureux  (L. 
xiv,  p.  328). 

le  travail  qui  doit  ^tre  inseparable  de  la  royaut6,  pour  le  soulage- 
ment  des  peuples  (L.  xiv,  p.  330). 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  155 

les  rois  qui,  au  lieu  d'etre  de  bons  et  vigilants  pasteurs  des 
peuples,  n'avaient  song6  qu'^  ravager  le  troupeau  comme  des 
loups  d^vorants  (L.  xiv,  p.  331). 

Ainsi,  les  bons  rois  sont  tr^s-rares;  et  la  plupart  sont  si  mediants 
que  . . .  (L.  xiv,  p.  336). 


2.    Laws  and  Property 

Although  the  general  statements  in  the  Telemaque 
regarding  laws,  property,  morals,  religion,  and  nature 
are  not  so  clearly  epigrammatic  in  form  as  is  the  case  in 
statements  regarding  royalty,  there  are  nevertheless  a 
number  of  ideas  on  these  subjects  so  clearly  and  concisely 
put  that  they  deserve  quotation. 

Les  bons  rameurs  mimes  ont  des  recompenses  sAres, ...  on  les 
nourrit  bien;  on  a  soin  d'eux  quand  ils  sont  malades;  en  leiur 
absence  on  a  soin  de  leurs  femmes  et  de  leurs  enfants;  s'ils 
p^rissent  dans  un  naufrage,  on  d^dommage  leurs  families.  C'est 
ainsi  qu'on  mine  les  hommes,  sans  contrainte  . . .  L'autorit6 
seule  ne  fait  jamais  bien  (L.  iii,  p.  50). 

11  ne  faut  permettre  k  chaque  famille . . .  de  pouvoir  poss6der 
que  I'ltendue  de  terre  absolument  nicessaire  . . .  Cette  rigle 
Itant  inviolable,  les  nobles  ne  pourront  point  faire  des  acqmsi- 
tions  sur  les  pauvres  (L.  x,  p.  225). 

Ici  on  punit  trois  vices . . .  :  I'ingratitude,  la  dissimulation  et 
I'avarice  (L.  v,  p.  76). 

la  liberty  du  commerce  Itait  entiire:  bien  loin  de  le  glner  par 
des  impots,  on  promettait  une  recompense  h  tons  les  marchans 
qui  pourraient  attirer  k  Salente  le  conunerce  de  quelque  nouvelle 
nation  ...  On  punit  slvlrement  toutes  les  banqueroutes,  parce 
que  celles  qui  sont  exemptes  de  mauvaise  foi  ne  le  sont  presque 
jamais  de  tlmeritl  (L.  x,  p.  214). 

presque  tous  les  hommes  ont  I'inclination  de  se  marier;  il  n'y 
a  que  la  misere  qui  les  en  emplche.    Si  vous  ne  les  chargez 


156  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

point  d'impdts,  ils  vivront  sans  peine  avec  leurs  femmes  et 
leurs  enfants  (L.  x,  p.  222). 

Les  princes  avides  et  sans  pr^voyance  ne  songent  qu'i  charger 
d'imp6ts  . .  .  (L.  x,  p.  223). 

II  y  a  deux  choses  pemicieuses,  dans  le  gouvemement  des  peuples, 
auxquelles  on  n'apporte  presque  jamais  aucun  remade ...  La 
premiere  est  une  autorit^  injuste  et  trop  violente  dans  les  rois; 
la  seconde  est  le  luxe,  qui  corrompt  les  moeurs  (L.  xvii,  p.  393). 

N'entreprenez  jamais  de  g^ner  le  commerce  pour  le  toumer 
selon  vos  vues.  II  faut  que  le  prince  ne  s'en  m^le  point,  de  peur 
de  le  g^ner,  et  qu'il  en  laisse  tout  le  profit  k  ses  sujets  qui  en 
ont  la  peine  (L.  iii,  p.  48). 

3.     War 

F^nelon's  hatred  of  war  appears  not  only  in  the  absence 
of  war  in  la  Betique,  and  in  Mentor's  success  in  keeping 
Idom^n^e  from  engaging  in  wars,  but  also  in  many  ex- 
pressions of  sentiment  against  war  in  general.  Senti- 
ments unfavorable  to  kings  of  the  conqueror  type  have 
already  been  cited.  General  sentiments  against  war 
are  found  throughout  the  T^lemaque.  That  these  are 
reflections  of  F^nelon's  reading  of  the  Ancients  does  not 
decrease  their  force  in  1699.    Some  few  are: 

II  faut  6tre  toujours  pr^t  k  faire  la  guerre,  pour  n'fitre  jamais 
r^duit  au  malheur  de  la  faire  (L.  x,  p.  221). 

le  vrai  moyen  d'^loigner  la  guerre  et  de  conserver  une  longue 
paix,  c'est  de  cultiver  les  armes  . . .  c'est  d'etre  ^galement  in- 
capable et  de  faire  la  guerre  par  ambition,  et  de  la  craindre  par 
mollesse  (L.  xi,  pp.  262-263).     . 

En  rentrant  dans  le  camp,  ils  virent  ce  que  la  guerre  a  de  plus 
lamentable:  les  malades  et  les  blesses  . . .  poussant  vers  le  ciel 
d'une  voix  plaintive  et  mourante  des  cris  douloureux  . . .  voil^ 
les  maux  que  la  guerre  entralne  aprds  elle! . . .  Les  malheureux 
mortels!  ils  ont  si  peu  de  jours  k  vivre  sur  la  terre!  ces  jours 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  157 

sont  si  mis^rables!  pourquoi  pr^cipiter  une  mort  d^j^  si  pro- 
chaine!  (L.  xiii,  p.  304). 

Les  lions  ne  font  point  la  guerre  aux  lions . . .  ils  n'attaquent 
que  les  animaux  d'esp^ce  diff^rente:  rhomme  seul,  malgr^  sa 
raison,  fait  ce  que  les  animaux  sans  raison  ne  firent  jamais  . . . 
Combien  y  a-t-il  de  terres  d^sertes!  le  genre  humain  ne  saurait 
les  remplir.  Quoi  done!  une  fausse  gloire,  un  vain  titre  de 
conqu^rant,  qu'un  prince  veut  acqu^rir,  allume  la  guerre  dans 
des  pays  immenses!  (L.  xiii,  p.  305). 

4.    Cosmopolitanism 

If  pity  for  the  suffering  of  the  poor,  the  sick,  and  the 
wounded  has  a  flavor  of  sensihilite,  the  cosmopoUtanism 
of  the  TeUmaque  is  even  more  definitely  a  symptom  of 
the  great  cosmopolitanism  of  the  18th  century.  The 
election  of  a  king  in  Crete  (L.  v)  has  a  certain  similarity 
to  the  internationaUsm  of  the  Olympic  Games.  Men  of 
many  lands  compete  in  the  athletic  and  mental  com- 
petitions. CosmopoUtanism  is  urged,  however,  not  only 
as  a  benefit  in  one  country  but  as  a  poUcy  among  states. 

Recevez  bien  et  facilement  tous  les  strangers;  faites-leur 
trouver  dans  vos  ports  la  sdret^,  la  commodity,  la  liberty  entidre 
(L.  iii,  p.  47). 

Les  peuples  y  accoururent  bientot  en  foule  de  toutes  parts  . . . 
chacun  . . .  vivait,  paisible  et  en  sAret^,  dans  Salente  comme 
dans  sa  patrie  (L.  x,  p.  215). 

Nous  avons  attir^  dans  ce  pays  beaucoup  de  peuples  strangers 
(L.xvii,p.393)." 

Pour  les  allies,  quand  ils  sont  pr^ts  k  se  faire  la  guerre  les  ims 
aux  autres,  c'est  k  vous  k  vous  rendre  m^diateur.  Par  1^  vous 
acqu^rez  une  gloire  plus  solide  .  .  .  que  celle  des  conqudrants; 

"  The  similarity  to  reports  of  kind  reception  of  strangers  in 
East  Indian  trade  centers  will  be  noted.  (See  Chapter  III,  Les 
Voyages  du  Sieur  Vincent  Le  Blanc.) 


158  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

vous  gagnez  Tainour  et  Testime  des  strangers;  ils  ont  tous 
besoin  de  vous:  vous  regnez  sur  eux  par  la  confiance  .  .  .  En 
cet  ^tat,  qu'un  peuple  voisin  vous  attaque  .  .  .  il  vous  trouve 
aim6  et  secouru  (L.  xi,  p.  262). 

5.    Education  and  morals 

The  reforming  of  an  entire  people,  by  collective  educa- 
tion in  Salente  has  already  been  mentioned.  In  this 
city  (L.  X,  p.  226  and  L.  xi,  p.  259)  there  are  public  schools 
where  children  are  reared  according  to  hs  lois  de  Minos 
pour  V education  des  enfants. 

Luxury  and  extravagance  are  condemned  throughout 
the  book.  In  fact  it  is  impossible  to  read  much  in  the 
Telknaqae  without  finding  repeated  condemnations  of 
these  vices.    Xo  cite  particular  cases  seems  needless. 

Wine  is  characterized  as  la  source  des  plus  grands  maux 
parmi  les  peuples  (L.  x,  p.  226).  The  virtuous  inhabitants 
of  la  Betique  not  only  craignent  le  vin  comme  le  corrupteur 
des  homines  (L.  vii,  p.  147)  but  have  a  single  code  of  morals 
for  men  and  for  women: 

L'honneur  des  homines,  en  ce  pays,  depend  autant  de  leur 
fidelity  h  regard  de  leurs  femmes,  que  l'honneur  des  femmes 
depend,  chez  les  autres  peuples,  de  leur  fidelity  pour  leurs  maris 
(L.  vii,  p.  147). 

6.    Religion 

Although  the  exterior  religion  mentioned  in  the  Tili- 
mague  is  that  of  the  ancient  Greeks,  there  is  httle  notice 
given  it.  Mentor  (really  Minerva)  acts  as  a  guide  not 
only  to  T^l^maque  but  to  others  in  need  of  counsel. 
M.  Lanson  has  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  Mentor 
is  much  more  hke  Reason  than  Uke  any  Greek  goddess.^^ 
It  has  been  noticed  that  the  virtuous  people  of  la  BUique 

"  Formation  de  I'esprit  phUosophique,  Revue  C.  C,  1909,  p.  214 
(8  avril,  1909). 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  159 

have  maintained  superhuman  righteousness  by  the  study 
of  nature.  External  religion  is  conspicuously  absent  in 
the  reforms  effected  in  Salente.  A  general  statement 
(L.  xii,  p.  281)  is  indefinite  enough  not  to  conflict  with 
more  Deistic  utterances  elsewhere  in  the  book: 

Surtout,  6  Grecs,  aimez  et  observez  la  religion:  le  reste  meurt; 
elle  ne  meurt  jamais. 

The  idea  of  sacrifice,  which  is  a  reUgious  and  ethical 
doctrine  not  found  in  previous  novels  of  Extraordinary 
Voyage,  is  present  in  the  Telemague,  the  most  striking 
example  being  that  of  King  Dioclides  (L.  xiv,  p.  347) 
who  dies  to  save  his  people. 

If  the  Telemaque  is  not  a  book  demonstrating  a  purely 
natural  religion/^  there  is  in  it  a  disregard  of  all  exterior 
religion  which  is  striking.  There  is  a  remarkable  Deistic 
passage  found  in  Livre  iv  (p.  71),  which  goes  well  with 
the  guietisme  of  F^nelon: 

il  s'entretenait  avec  Mentor  de  cette  premiere  puissance  qui 
a  form6  le  ciel  et  la  terra;  de  cette  lumi^re  simple,  infinie  et 
immuable,  qui  se  donne  k  tous  sans  se  partager;  de  cette  v^rit6 
souveraine  et  universelle  qui  ^claire  tous  les  esprits, . . . 

Again,  on  the  following  page: 

II  n'y  a  point  sur  la  terre  de  v6ritables  hommes,  excepts  ceux 
qui  consultent,  qui  aiment,  qui  suivent  cette  raison  6temelle: 
c'est  elle  qui  nous  inspire,  quand  nous  pensons  bien;  c'est  elle 
qui  nous  reprend,  quand  nous  pensons  mal.  Nous  ne  tenons 
pas  moins  d'elle  la  raison  que  la  vie. 

T^l^maque  says  of  these  opinions  of  Mentor  (L.  iv, 
p.  72): 

Quoique  je  ne  comprisse  point  encore  parfaitement  la  profonde 
sagesse  de  ces  discom's,  je  ne  laissais  pas  d'y  goiiter  je  ne  sais 

"  M.  Lanson  has  called  attention  to  the  opinion  of  the  abb6 
Nicolas  G^oyn  to  this  effect  {Revue  des  C.  et  C,  1909,  p.  214). 


160  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

quoi  de  pur  et  de  sublime  ...  la  v6rit6  me  semblait  reluire  dans 
toutes  ces  paroles. 

It  is  however  generally  Mentor  and  not  T^l^maque  who 
expresses  the  opinions  of  F^nelon. 

7.    Return  to  Nature 

The  ideal  State,  la  Betique,  has  been  discussed  as  a 
community  whose  perfection  is  traceable  to  a  study  of 
Nature.  In  the  practical  and  reformed  state,  Salenie, 
the  reforms  carried  out  require  the  return  to  the  land  of 
those  who  are  poor  or  employed  in  luxury-trades  in  the 
cities. 

After  both  T^lemaque  and  Mentor  have  refused  the 
crown  of  Crete  (L.  v),  the  latter  points  out  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  island  one  of  their  own  number  as  a  fitting 
person  to  rule  them.  This  person  is  Aristodeme,  a  man 
who  has  taken  part  in  many  wars  and  who  has  great 
wisdom.  Having  tired  of  the  foibles  of  corrupt  civiUza- 
tion, 

II  vit  gaiment  dans  un  endroit  6cart^  de  I'lle,  oil  il  cultive  son 
champ  de  ses  propres  mains  (L.  v,  p.  97). 

Upon  being  elected  king,  Aristodeme  accepts  with  three 
conditions:  first,  that  he  may  resign  after  two  years  if 
he  has  not  improved  the  State;  second,  that  he  may 
continue  to  Uve  frugally;  third,  that  his  children  shall  not 
be  honored  after  his  death  above  their  fellow-citizens. 

Another  case  of  the  wise  man  Uving  apart  from  his 
fellows  is  that  of  Philocles  (L.  xi).  That  Philocles  seems 
to  be  a  reflection  of  F^nelon  himself,  in  his  post  at  Cambrai, 
does  not  alter  the  fact  that  this  is  still  another  example 
of  the  wise  man  weary  of  the  ways  of  cities. 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  161 

5.  Conclusion 

The  Aventures  de  Tel&maque  presents  a  sort  of  synthe- 
sis of  the  preceding  works  of  Extraordinary  Voyage,  of 
Utopian  civilizations,  and  of  satire,  with  the  new  element 
of  the  primitive  state  of  nature  taken  as  a  sort  of  pre- 
requisite of  virtue.  Not  only  is  it  the  thesis  of  this  book 
that  a  virtuous  people  must  be  of  necessity  a  simple  people, 
but  it  is  also  contended  that  by  taking  a  people  used  to 
living  in  luxury  in  a  city,  it  is  possible  to  reform  them 
and  bring  them  happiness  and  contentment  by  causing 
them  to  return  to  Nature.  In  this  setting  forth  of  a 
remedy  for  existing  conditions,  the  Averdures  de  Telemaqae 
contains  the  idea  (if  not  the  term)  "progress."  In  ad- 
vocating the  return  to  a  more  primitive  state  from  which 
man  has  been  removed  by  the  complexity  of  urban  life, 
the  Aventures  de  Telemaque  is  not  only  a  condemnation 
of  society  under  Louis  XIV,  but  also  a  vindication  of  the 
natural  virtue  of  uncorrupted  man,  and  a  suggestion  of 
the  path  which  will  lead  (thanks  to  the  spirit  of  progress) 
to  better  conditions. 


CONCLUSIONS 

The  Extraordinary  Voyage  is  a  type  of  novel  developed 
during  the  17th  century  in  French  Literature.  It  may 
be  distinguished  from  other  types  of  novel,  such  as  pastoral, 
adventurous,  or  burlesque,  because  of  its  realistic  setting 
in  a  far-off  country  and  because  of  its  didactic  content. 
It  may  be  distinguished  both  from  philosophic  works  of 
the  Utopia  type  and  from  fantastic  imaginary  voyages 
to  other  planets  or  to  non-existent  countries  because  of 
its  geographic  realism. 

The  Extraordinary  Voyage  in  the  17th  century  in 
France  is  a  product  of  two  factors:  (1)  An  interest,  par- 
ticularly after  1650,  in  newly  discovered  lands  and 
peoples,  as  reported  in  accounts  of  voyages  actually 
made;  (2)  A  growth  of  rationalism  —  the  emancipation 
of  reason  from  dogmatic  tradition  in  thought. 

Disregarding  works  of  pure  imagination,  there  is  in 
accounts  of  real  voyages  a  constant  comparison  of  distant 
lands  with  European  countries  throughout  the  17th 
century.  One  of  the  influences  not  to  be  overlooked  in 
studying  the  development  of  Deism  in  Europe  is  that 
of  numerous  reports  coming  to  Europe  of  far  distant 
lands  enjoying  peace  and  plenty  without  churches,  without 
priests,  and  without  the  external  forms  of  reUgion. 

Direct  and  open  comparison  of  conditions  in  Uttle 
known  lands  with  conditions  in  Europe  (involving  criti- 
cism unfavorable  to  Europe),  is  found  as  early  as  1648 
in  accounts  of  voyages.  Pierre  Bergeron's  version  of 
the  Voyages  fameux  du  sieur  Vincent  Le  Blanc  contains 

162 


THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE  163 

the  chief  elements  of  the  Extraordinary  Voyage:  (1)  Real- 
istic exotic  setting;  (2)  Presentation  of  a  state  of  society 
better  than  that  found  in  Europe  with  regard  to  economic, 
social,  and  religious  conditions.  It  is  but  a  step  from  this 
elaborated  account  of  a  real  voyage  to  the  complete 
novel  of  Extraordinary  Voyage. 

In  the  first  complete  novel  of  Extraordinary  Voyage 
known,  Foigny's  Terre  australe  connue  (1676),  the  real- 
istic beginning  and  end  of  the  story  are  strongly  tinged 
with  adventure  that  is  at  times  fantastic.  The  device 
used  by  the  author  to  solve  social  and  moral  problems, 
—  a  hermaphroditic  colony  —  is  original,  but  perhaps 
not  as  fantastic  as  would  appear  to-day  when  world-old 
legends  of  hermaphroditism  have  been  forgotten  through 
the  progress  of  discovery  and  science.  Rationalism  and 
Deism  are  characteristics  of  this  novel. 

There  is  ample  testimony  that  many  beUeved  the 
Histoire  des  Sevarambes  of  Vairasse  (1677-1679)  to  be  an 
account  of  a  voyage  actually  made.  There  is  no  trace 
of  the  fantastic  in  this  matter-of-fact  novel.  It  is  to  be 
noted  that  the  plausible  and  convincing  first  part  of  the 
story  was  published  by  Vairasse  in  Enghsh  (London, 
1675),  and  that  it  is  very  carefully  authenticated.  In 
the  Austrahan  society  described,  rational  rather  than 
traditional  ideas  favor  simplicity,  labor  on  the  land, 
compulsory  marriage,  and  the  abohtion  of  classes  and 
inequaUties.  This  society  is  strictly  regulated  by  elected 
ofiicials.  The  doctrines  of  Deism  and  of  reincarnation 
of  souls  are  defended.  The  author  scorns  the  clergy  of 
Europe,  and  mocks  the  belief  in  miracles  among 
Christians.     Rimed  verse  is  condemned  as  puerile. 

The  Aventures  de  TSlSmaque  (1699)  may  not  only  be 
considered  as  the  source  of  a  great  influence  in  the  18th 
century,  but  may  also  be  taken  as  the  culmination,  in 
the  17th  century,  of  a  tendency  to  write  the  defense  of 


164  THE  EXTRAORDINARY  VOYAGE 

rationalistic  ideas  in  the  form  of  a  novel.  The  author  of 
the  Tdimaque  was  evidently  familiar  not  only  with  ac- 
counts of  American  Indians  but  with  accounts  of  cos- 
mopoUtan  population  in  various  sea-ports. 

All  novels  of  Extraordinary  Voyage  of  the  17th  century 
in  French  hterature  are  influenced  by  pubUshed  accounts 
of  real  voyages.  In  the  work  of  Foigny  and  of  Vairasse 
it  is  possible  to  point  out  the  particular  indebtedness. 
In  the  work  of  F^nelon,  an  infinitely  greater  artist,  it  is 
the  spirit  rather  than  the  details  of  real  voyages  that  it 
is  possible  to  trace. 

No  apology  is  required  for  studying  the  work  of  F^nelon. 
The  importance  of  the  work  of  Foigny  and  Vairasse  is 
limited,  but  far  from  being  neghgible.  There  is  no 
evidence  in  the  TeUmaque  that  F^nelon  knew  of  the 
existence  of  either  Foigny's  or  Vairasse's  novel.  It  is 
not  through  their  relation  to  the  TeUmaque  that  the  two 
earlier  Extraordinary  Voyages  claim  attention.  Vairasse, 
if  not  Foigny,  had  followers  and  imitators  in  the  French 
novel  after  1700,  but  imitators  only  among  the  mediocre 
authors.  The  novels  of  Foigny  and  Vairasse  have  been 
considered  as  worthy  of  notice  by  recent  scholars  in 
studying  the  history  of  ideas. 

Considering  the  Terre  australe  connue  and  the  Histoire 
des  Sevaramhes  as  novels  rather  than  as  examples  of 
didactic  hterature,  there  is  an  interesting  conclusion  to 
be  drawn.  Perhaps  in  some  measure  because  of  their 
unfavorable  reception  by  the  orthodox,  these  books  were 
fairly  well  known  for  a  few  decades  after  they  were  pub- 
hshed.  Through  reahsm  borrowed  from  accounts  of 
actual  voyages,  they  differed  markedly  from  earUer  novels. 
In  other  words,  they  formed  a  distinct  type  of  novel. 
That  they  were  recognized  as  constituting  such  a  distinct 
type  would  appear  from  the  criticism  of  at  least  one 
reviewer  of  Robinson  Crusoe  when  this  novel  appeared 


IN  FRENCH  LITERATURE  165 

in  1719.  The  London  correspondent  of  the  Nouvelles 
littiraires  of  Amsterdam,  in  December  1719,  found  the 
then  recently  pubUshed  story  of  Robinson  Crusoe  to  be  a 
novel  dans  le  gout  de  VHistoire  des  Sevarambes  et  de 
Jacques  Sadeur."  ^ 

It  is  not  contended  that  Defoe  was  in  any  way  indebted 
to  either  of  these  novels.  Scholars  interested  primarily 
in  Defoe  have  searched  both  the  Terre  australe  connue 
and  the  Histoire  des  Sevarambes  from  cover  to  cover  with- 
out finding  anything  that  could  not  as  well  have  been 
imitated  from  other  works.  The  point  is  that  by  Foigny 
and  Vairasse  there  was  created  in  France  a  type  of  philo- 
sophic novel  in  a  realistic  setting,  and  that  this  creation 
of  a  type  of  novel  on  the  part  of  these  men,  utterly  for- 
gotten in  later  years,  was  recognized  by  at  least  one 
critic  at  the  time  the  Robinson  Crusoe  was  pubKshed. 
That  the  genius  of  Defoe,  through  the  novel  Robinson 
Crusoe,  had  a  marked  influence  in  France  in  the  18th 
century  is  not  to  be  contested.  That  this  sort  of  novel 
was  known  in  France,  however,  forty  years  before  the 
Robinson  Crusoe  was  published,  and  so  known  that  the 
story  of  Defoe  was  classified  easily  by  some  French 
readers  at  the  time  of  its  appearance,  is  hkewise  in- 
contestable. 

'  Robinson  Crusoi  en  France,  W.  E.  Mann,  Paris,  1916,  p.  14. 
The  Nouvelles  liUeraires  has  not  been  available  for  consultation. 
The  statements  made  depend  upon  Dr.  Mann's  citations  in  the 
thesis  quoted. 


APPENDIX 

1.  The  History  of  the  Sevarites. 

2.  Condemnation  of  Rimed  Verse. 

3.  Publication  of  Voyages. 

1.  The  History  of  the  Sevarites 

There  was  licensed  at  London  on  April  22nd,  1675, 
the  first  part  of  the  Histoire  des  SSvarambes,  printed  in 
Elnglish,  with  the  following  title: 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  SEVARITES  OR  SEVARAMBI, 

a  nation  inhabiting  a  part  of  the  third  continent, 
commonly  called 

Terrae  AustraUs  Incognitae 

with  an  Account  of  their  admirable  Government, 
Religion,  Customs,  and  Language. 

Written  by  one  Captain  Siden. 

Printed  for  Henry  Brome  at  the  Gim  at  the  West  End 
of  St.  Pauls  Church-Yard. 

LONDON  1675. 

The  To  the  Reader  of  this  first  part  is  practically  identi- 
cal with  the  Au  lecteur  of  complete  French  editions  of  the 
Histoire  des  Sivaramhes,  the  same  evidence  of  veracity 
of  the  story  being  adduced.  The  To  the  Reader  is  signed 
D.  v.,  a  definite  enough  proof  of  the  authorship  of  Denis 
Vairasse,  if  it  be  considered  that  "Siden,"  the  name  of 
the  supposed  author,  is  an  anagram  of  "Denis,"  and 

167 


168  APPENDIX 

that  "Sevarias"  the  name  of  the  Australian  law-giver, 
is  "Vairasse"  transposed. 

This  first  part  ends  when  the  shipwrecked  party, 
having  definitely  settled  in  their  exotic  colony,  and 
having  divided  their  women  and  set  up  their  polyandrous 
schedule,  come  into  contact  with  the  highly  civilized 
natives.  Captain  Siden  does  not  in  this  part  proceed 
into  the  interior,  nor  does  he  arrive  at  the  capital  founded 
by  Sevarias.  All  of  the  account  of  the  landing  after 
shipwreck,  the  searching  for  water,  the  founding  of  the 
palisaded  camp,  the  dispatch  of  the  pinnace  to  Batavia 
for  aid,  is  identical  with  the  French  version. 

Part  II  of  the  History  of  the  Sevarites  has  on  the  title 
page: 

A  further  Account  of  their  admirable  Government,  Religion, 
Customs,  and  Language. 

The  Second  Part  more  wonderful  and  delightful  than  the  First. 

LONDON   1679 

The  Hcense  is  of  February  167 1.  The  book  was 
printed  by  Roger  L'Estrange. 

The  To  the  Reader  of  this  second  volume  is  unsigned. 
If  it  was  written  by  Vairasse,  which  seems  doubtful, 
it  is  certain  that  it  has  Httle  resemblance  to  the  cor- 
responding portion  of  the  French  editions. 

In  reading  of  the  battles  of  Captain  Siden  with 
ferocious  beasts  in  this  part  of  the  book,  one  is  not 
reminded  of  Sadeur  and  the  Urgs  but  rather  of  the 
feats  of  M.  de  Crac  and  Baron  Munchausen  of  the  fol- 
lowing century  —  or  of  the  entertaining  gabs  of  the  peers 
of  Charlemagne. 

The  doughty  Captain  Siden,  being  bitten  in  the  but- 
tocks by  a  leopard,  turned  and  (speaking  in  his  own 
person) 


APPENDIX  169 

pulled  him  by  the  ears,  thrusting  one  of  my  fingers  into  its 
right  Eye.  The  pain  forced  him  to  let  go  his  hold,  which  as 
soon  as  he  had  done,  he  leaped  upon  me  with  his  open  Jaws, 
into  which  I  thrust  my  right  hand  and  took  hold  of  the  Tongue. 
...  I  pluckt  it  by  the  root  whiles  the  beast  held  me  with  its 
Paws.  At  that  instant  six  roaring  Lions  and  three  Bears,  with 
an  infinite  number  of  Jaccals,  had  overtaken  and  surrounded  me. 
I  flung  amongst  them  the  Leopard's  Tongue. . . . 

They  fight   over  this   fresh   meat,   and   Captain   Siden 
escapes  in  the  confusion.^ 

The  chief  difference  between  this  Second  Part  and  the 
corresponding  part  of  the  French  version  is  the  lack  of 
philosophic  and  social  discussion  in  the  English  text. 
There  are  many  pages  of  cures  by  talismans  and  wonders 
performed  by  them.^  There  is  a  marvelous  spring  which 
purifies  men  from  all  passions,  and  in  which  the  visitors 
are  forced  to  bathe  before  entering  the  country  of  Seva- 
rinde  (the  capital  and  immediate  vicinity).'  There  is 
also  a  trace  of  de  Quir's  Petition  to  the  King  of  Spain, 
possibly  taken  in  this  case  from  the  translation  of  Purchas' 
Pilgrimes. 

They  know  not  what  it  is  to  live  always  in  fear,  to  be  poysoned 
by  Asps,  Scorpions,  Snakes,  or  to  be  devoiu-ed  by  flying  Serpents 
and  Crocodiles,  which  in  other  kingdoms  swallow  man  and 
beast.* 

The  insistence  of  Sadeur  on  this  absence  of  vermin  in 
Australia,  and  his  evident  wish  to  agree  with  de  Quir, 
has  been  mentioned  in  the  part  of  this  study  devoted  to 
Foigny.  That  The  History  of  the  Sevarites  should  be  in- 
fluenced by  de  Quir's  Petition  in  this  Second  Part  and 
that  de  Quir's  Petition  had  no  influence  in  the  French 
Histoire  des  Sevarambes  of   Vairasse   (1677-1679)  is  in- 

1  Part  II,  p.  26.  »  Part  II,  p.  11. 

2  Part  II,  pp.  110-119.  *  Part  II,  p.  37. 


170  APPENDIX 

teresting.  It  would  seem  extremely  Ukely  that  this 
Second  Part  was  written  by  some  other  than  Vairasse. 
It  is  of  course  possible  that  Vairasse  wrote  it  before 
he  wrote  the  French  version. 

That  Vairasse  did  not  write  the  Second  Part  of  the 
English  version  is  easier  of  beUef  when  the  lack  of 
philosophical  and  social  material  is  considered.  The 
Sevarites  have  private  property,  riches,  influence. 
The  laws  and  maxims  of  Sevarias  are  conspicuously 
absent,  and  the  story  ends  in  a  very  trite  fashion  by 
the  return  of  all  the  Europeans  to  Batavia  on  a 
vessel  sent  to  fetch  them.  Siden  and  his  companion 
Maurice  each  have  married  a  Severambian  lady.  The 
fact  that  Siden's  bride  is  the  daughter  of  a  rich  merchant 
will  suffice  to  show  the  difference  between  this  EngUsh 
Second  Part  and  the  later  part  of  the  French  novel, 
devoted  to  long  diatribes  against  personal  property  and 
its  evils.  The  History  of  the  Sevarites  has  no  social  con- 
tent, and  almost  no  reUgious  content.  There  is  a  moral 
content,  but  this  is  chiefly  the  defense  of  polygamy  and 
an  experimental  proof  of  the  iniquity  of  polyandry  found 
in  the  first  part  of  the  French  version. 

2.  Condemnation  of  Rimed  Verse 
(Histoire  des  Sevaramhes,  1678-1679) 

The  following  is  taken  from  the  first  edition  of  the 
Histoire  des  Sevaramhes,  2ieme  Partie,  printed  at  Paris, 
1678-1679: 

Je  voulus  une  fois  dans  une  compagnie  de  beaux  esprits  parler 
de  nos  vers  rim^s  et  les  comparer  aux  vers  m^triques,  pour  voir 
06  qu'ils  en  diraient;  mais  ils  trait^rent  cela  de  ridicule  et  de 
barbare,  disant  que  les  rimes  ne  faisaient  que  gesner  le  bon 
sens  et  la  raison  et  qu'elles  ne  produisaient  rien  qui  ptit  ^mouvoir 
les  passions,  ni  donner  de  la  gr&ce  et  du  mouvement  aux  vers. 


APPENDIX  171 

En  effet  je  ne  trouve  rien  de  plus  ridicule  que  les  rimes,  quoique 
de  grandes  nations,  d'ailleurs  assez  polies,  en  soient  si  entest^es 
que  d'en  faire  leurs  d^lices,  comme  les  petits  esprits  font  les  leurs 
des  pointes  et  des  Equivoques.  II  me  semble  que  ces  vers  rim^s 
font  vm  certain  carillon  k  peu  pr^s  semblable  aux  clochettes 
qu'on  pend  k  la  cage  ronde  d'un  Ecureuil . . .  Car  quel  est 
I'homme  raisonnable  qui  voudrait  s'y  amuser  ou  I'Ecouter  plus 
d'une  fois?  . . .  Car  qu'y  a-t-il  de  plus  ridicule  que  de  faire 
parler  en  rimes,  comme  on  fait  dans  diverses  comedies,  ime 
hareng^re,  un  savetier,  un  paysan,  un  petit  enfant  et  telles 
autres  personnes? 

Est-il  rien  de  plus  absurde  que  de  vendre,  d'acheter,  de  plaider, 
de  prescher,  de  boire,  de  manger,  de  se  battre,  de  faire  son  testa- 
ment et  de  mourir  en  rimant?  Et  ce  qui  est  encore  plus  ridicule 
que  tout  cela,  est  de  vouloir  que  sur  le  theatre,  dans  un  change- 
ment  de  scene,  celui  qui  Etait  absent  et  qui  n'avait  nullement 
oui  les  dernidres  paroles  qu'on  avait  dit,  avant  qu'il  arrivast, 
rime  avec  le  dernier  vers  qu'on  a  prononcE,  comme  s'il  I'avait 
oui  et  qu'on  lui  eut  donnE  le  temps  de  chercher  ime  rmie  pour  y 
r^pondre.  Certainement  tout  homme  de  bon  sens  qui  fera 
reflexion  sur  ces  absurdit^s  ne  pourra  qu'il  n'admire  I'aveugle- 
ment  de  mille  beaux  esprits,  qui  se  laissent  entratner  k  I'estime 
sotte  et  vulgaire  que  Ton  fait  des  rimes,     (t.  3,  pp.  344-350.) 

3.  Chronological  List  of  Voyages 

The  following  is  a  list  of  some  publications  in  French 
between  1600  and  1660  regarding  voyages,  exploration, 
and  colonization.  The  Relations  of  the  Jesuits  in  Canada 
(published  almost  yearly  at  Paris  by  Cramoisy  toward 
the  middle  of  the  century)  have  been  omitted.  Almost 
all  books  cited  by  M.  Chinard  and  by  M.  Martino  have 
been  purposely  omitted.  Books  mentioned  by  these 
authors  have  been  included  in  this  Ust  only  when  some 
considerable  notice  of  them  has  been  given  in  the  text 
of  the  present  study.  Special  effort  has  been  made  to 
discover  books  dealing  with  foreign   countries  printed 


172  APPENDIX 

between  1649  and  1660,  in  order  to  show  that  considerable 
printing  of  such  books  in  French  was  undertaken  in  the 
ten  years  before  1660.  The  following  is  not  in  any  way 
a  complete  list,  but  is,  on  the  contrary,  intended  to  sup- 
plement the  number  of  such  books  cited  in  previous 
studies. 

1600.  Ceiartier,  J.    Le  nouveau  miroir  des  voiages  marins.    Ant- 

werp.   8vo. 
Veer,  Gerard.    Vraye  description  de  trois  voyages  faicts 
en  trois  ans  (Norway,  Tartary  and  China),  Amst^dam. 
in-fol. 

1601.  Neck,  Jacob  van.    Journal  ou  comptoir,  contenant  le  vray 

discours  . .  .  du  voiage  faict  soubs  . . .  I'Amiral  Jacques 
Comeille  Necq.    Amsterdam,  in-fol. 

1602.  NooRT,  Olfvier  van.     Description  du  penible  voyage  faict 

entour  de  I'univers  ou  globe  terrestre,  Amsterdam,  in-fol. 

1603.  PiMENTA,  NiccoLO.     Coppie    d'une    lettre    du    P.    Nicolas 

Pimenta  visiteur  de  la  Province  de  I'lnde  Orientale. 
Paris,  in-4. 

1604.  BoLLO,  Diego  de  Torres.    La  nouvelle  histoire  du  Perou. 

Paris,  8vo. 
Veer,  Gerard.     (Another  ed.  at  Amsterdam  of  Voyages, 

1600.) 
ViTRfi,   Francois  Martin    de.     Description   du    premier 

voyage  faict  aux  Indes  Orientales  par  les  Frangais.    Paris, 

in-4, 

1605.  Wytfliet,  Cornille.    Histoire  universelle  des  Indes,  Douai, 

in-fol. 

1606.  G6mara,  Lopez  de.    Histoire  generale  des  Indes  Occiden- 

tales.    Paris,  8vo. 
Mendoza,  J.  Gonzalez  de.    Histoire  du  grand  royaume  de 
la  Chine.    Paris,  Svo. 

1607.  Wytfliet,  C.     (Another  ed.  at  Douai,  of  Histoire  des  Indes, 

1605.) 

1608.  Mendoza,  J.  Gonzalez  de.     (Another  ed.  at  Paris,  Histoire 

de  la  Chine,  1606.) 

1609.  Combes,  —  le  Sieur  de.    Coppie  d'une  lettre  envoyde  de 

la  Nouvelle  France  ou  Canada  par  le  Sieur  de  Cobes, 
Gentilhomme  Poictevi  k  un  sien  amy.  Lyon,  15  pp., 
4to. 


APPENDIX  173 

1609.  Veer,  Gerard.     (Another    ed.    of    Voyages.     Amsterdam, 

1600.) 
Neck,  Jacob  van.     (Another  ed.  at  Amsterdam  of  Journal, 

1601.) 
LoDEWijCKS,  G.  M.  A.  W.     Premier  livre  de  la  navigation 

aux  Indes  Orientales  par  les  Hollandois.    Amsterdam,  fol. 

1610.  LiNscHOTEN,  Ian  H.  van.     Histoire    de    la    navigation    de 

Jean  Hugues  de  Linscot,  Hollandois.    Amsterdam,  in-4. 

Veer,  Gerard.  (An  edition  at  Paris,  in-8,  of  Voyages, 
Amsterdam,  1600.) 

NooRT,  Olivier  van.  (Another  ed.  of  Voyages,  Amster- 
dam, 1602.) 

1616.  Mocquet,  Jean.    Voyages  en  Afrique,  Asie,  Indes  Orien- 

tales, etc.    Paris,  4to. 

1617.  Mocquet,  Jean.     (Second  ed.  at  Paris  of  Voyages,  1616.) 
1634.     Bergeron,  Pierre.     Relations    des    voyages    en    Tartaric. 
^  Paris,  in-8,  1634. 

1640.  Laet,  Joannes  de.     Histoire   du   Nouveau    Monde    ou  . . . 

des  Indes  Occidentales,  Leyden,  1640,  in-fol. 
BouTON,  Jacques.      Relation  de  I'establissement  des  Fran- 
gois  depuis  I'an  1635  en  I'isle  de  la  Martinique.    Paris,  8vo. 

1641.  Drake,  Sir  Francis.      Le  voyage  curieux,  faict  autour  du 

monde.     Paris,  Svo. 
1643.    Anon.     Les  veritables  motifs  de  Messieurs  et  Dames  de  la 

Soci^t^  de  Nostre  Dame  de  Monreal  pour  la  conversion 

des  sauvages  de  la  Nouvelle  France.     (No  place.) 
1645.     C.  D.  B.  S.  D.  L.  G.     (See  Bibl.  "Anon.")    Relation  d'un 

voyage  aux  Indes  Paris,  in-8. 
Mocquet,  Jean.     (An  edition  at  Rouen,  of  the  Voyages, 

Paris,  1616.) 

1647.  La  PeyrJire,  Isaac  de.    Relation  du  Groenland.    Paris,  8vo. 

1648.  Le  Blanc,  Vincent  (P.  Bergeron,  editor).     Les  Voyages  fa- 

meux  du  sieur  Vincent  Le  Blanc.    Paris,  small  4to. 

1649.  Le  Blanc,  Vincent  (P.  Bergeron,  editor).     (Second  edition 

of  Voyages  fameux  of  1648.) 

1651.  MoRisoT,  Claude  B.    Relations  veritables  et  curieuses  de 

I'isle  de  Madagascar  et  du  Bresil .  .  .  d'Egypte  . . .  de  Perse, 
etc.     Paris,  4to. 
Marucci,  Giovanni.     Relation  de  ce  qui  s'est  pass6  dans 
les  Indes  Orientales.    Paris,  8vo. 

1652.  Dupuis,  Mathias.     Relation  de  I'establissement  d'une  co- 

lonie  frangoise  dans  la  Gardeloupe.    Caen,  in-8. 


174  APPENDIX 

1652.  Rhodes,  Alexandre  de.    Relation  des  progrez  de  la  foy  au 

royaume  de  la  Cochinchine.    Paris,  8vo. 
Sanson,  Nicolas  (d'Abbeville).     L'Asie  en  plusieurs  cartes 
. . .  traitt^s  de  g^ographie  et  d'histoire.    Paris,  in-fol. 

1653.  Gouz,  Francois  de  Laboullaye  de.     Les  Voyages  et  ob- 

servations ...  en    Italie,    Grece,   Syrie,    Palestine,   Arable, 
Egypte,  Irelande,  Pologne  .  .  .  etc.    Paris,  4to. 
Rhodes,  Alexandre  de.     Divers  voyages  et  missions  en  la 
Chine  &  d'autres  royaumes  de  I'Orient.    Paris,  4to. 

1654.  BoYM,  Michel.     Briefve  relation  de  la  notable  conversion 

des  personnes  royales  ...  en  la  Chine.    Paris,  8vo. 
Martini,  M.     Histoire  de  la  guerre  des  Tartares  contre  la 
Chine  (transl.  from  Latin).    Douai,  24mo.  in  eights. 

1656.  Pagan,  Blaise  Francois  (CoMTE  de).     Relation  historique 

et  g^ographique  de  la  grande  riviire  des  Amazones  dans 
I'Am^rique.     Paris,  8vo. 

1657.  Sanson,  Nicolas  (d'Abbeville).    L'Am^rique  en  plusieurs 

cartes  &  . . .  traitt^s  de  g6ographie,  et  d'histoire.     Paris, 

fol. 
Gouz,   FRANgois  de  Laboullaye  de.      (Another   ed.    of 

Voyages,  1653.) 
Anon.     Petit  catechisme  avec  les  priferes  du  matin  et  du 

soir,  que  les  missionaires  font  &  enseignent  aux  n^ophjrtes 

de  I'isle  de  Madagascar  ...  en  franQois  &  en  cette  langue. 

Paris,  Svo. 

1658.  Anon.     (Another  ed.  of  Petit  catechisme,  Paris,  1657,  con- 

taining also  Petit  recueil  de  plusieurs  dictions  .  .  .  quelques 
mots  de  la  langue  des  sauvages  du  Cap  de  Bonne  Es- 
perance,  8vo.) 
Brontius,  Jacob.     Histoire  naturelle  des  Isles  Antilles  de 
I'Am^rique.    Rotterdam,  4to. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Works  Consulted  in  the  Present  Study,  and 
Works  Relating  to  the  Subject 

It  has  been  considered  advisable  to  give  names  of  some 
works  (chiefly  philosophical  and  theological)  which  have  not 
been  consulted,  simply  to  facilitate  more  special  studies  by 
others.    All  such  works  and  editions  are  marked  Not  consulted. 

Books  of  travel,  exploration,  and  colonization  printed  in 
French  between  1600  and  1660  which  have  been  mentioned  but 
not  discussed  in  this  study  are  listed  chronologically  in  the 
Appendix,  and  will  not  be  found  in  this  BibUography. 

Catalogues  of  books  in  hbraries  and  collections  have  not 
been  included  in  this  BibUography. 

Anonymous 

Nouvelles  de  l'Am6rique  ou  le  Mercure  Am^riquain.  Rouen, 
1678,  in-12. 

Relation  d'un  voyage  aux  Indes-Orientales  par  un  Gentil- 
homme  Francois  arriv6  depuis  trois  ans,  avec  une  hydro- 
graphie  pour  rintelligence  dudit  voyage.  Paris,  chez  Pierre 
Villery  et  Jean  Guignart,  MDCXLV.  (Privilege  to  C.  D.  B. 
S.  D.  L.  G.)  1645. 

(See  also:  Legxiat,  and  Paulmier.) 
Abtus,  Thomas  (Sieur  d'Embry) 

Les  Hermaphrodites.    Paris,  1605,  in-12.     (Not  consulted.) 

Les  Images  ou  tableaux  de  platte  peinture  des  deux  Philostrates 
. . .  mis  en  frangois  par  Blaise  de  Vigendre,  avec  des  epi- 
grammes  de  T.  A.    Paris,  1614,  in-4.     (Not  consulted.) 

(Later  editions  of  1615,  1629,  1630,  1637.) 

L'histoire  de  la  decadence  de  I'Empire  grec,  et  establissement 
de  celuy  des  Tmcs  . , .  et  des  tableaux  proph^tiques  predisans 
la  ruine  de  la  mesme  monarchic,  par  Artus  Thomas.  Paris, 
1620,  in-4.  (Translation  of  work  by  Chalcondylas  with 
additions.)  (Not  consulted.) 
175 


176  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Aktub,  Thomas  (Sieur  d'Embry)  —  Continued 

The  same:  Avec  la  continuation  de  la  mesme  histoire  jusques  k 
Van  1612,  par  T.  Artus.    Paris,  1650,  in-4.     (Not  consulted.) 
Description  de  I'isle  des  hermaphrodites,  nouvellement  decouverie, 
contenant  les  Mceurs,  les  Coutumei,   &  les  Ordonnancts  des 
Habitans  de  cette  Isle,  comme  aussi  le  Discours  de  Jacophile  d 
Limne,  avec  quelques  autres  pieces  curieuses.     Pour  servir  de 
supplement  an  Journal  de  Henri  III.    A  Cologne,  chez  les 
Heritiers  de  Herman  Demen,  MDCCXXIV  (1724). 
AvEZAC.     (See:  D^Avezac.) 
Bacon,  Francis 

Nova    Atlantis    (1627).       In    Ideal   Commonwealths,    London 
(George  Routledge  and  Sons),  18S3. 
Bakni,  J. 

Histoire  des  id^es  morales  et  politiques  en  France  au  x\Ji*  si^le. 
Paris,  1865-1867,  2  vols.    (In  Bihl.  d'hist.  coniemporaine.) 
Baxjdrillabt,  Henri 

Publicistes  modernes.     Paris,  1863. 
Bayle,  Pierre 

Dictionnaire  critique  et  historique.     Rotterdam,  1697  (4  voL 
in-fol.).    Rotterdam,  1715  (3rd  ed.,  4  vol.  in-fol.). 
Beatjdoin,  Jean 

(Translator  of  Comentarios  de  los  Incas  (1617)  of  Garcilaso. 
See:  Garcilaso.) 
Bergeron,  Pierre 

Traits  de  la  navigation  et  des  voyages  de  descouvertes.    Paris, 

chez  Jean  de  Heucqueville,  1629.    (Not  consulted.) 
Relation  des  Voyages  en  Tartaric,  plus  un  traict^  des  Tartares, 
avec  un  abreg6  de  I'histoire  des  Sarasins  et  Mahometans,  le  tout 
recueilly  par  Pierre  Bergeron,  Parisien,  k  Paris,  chez  Michel 
Soly,  MDCXXXIV.    Avec  privilege  du  Roy.     (1634),  in-8. 
Les  Voyages  fameux  du  sieur  Vincent  LeBlanc,   Marseillois. 
(Qu'il  a  faits  depuis  I'aage  de  douze  ans  jusques  k  soixante, 
aux  quatre  parties  du  monde.)     Redigez  fidellement  sur  ses 
Memoires  &  Registres,  par  Pierre  Bergeron,  Parisien,  k  Paris, 
Chez  Gervais  Clousier,   MDCXLVIII.     Avec  privilege  du 
Roy.     (1648),  in-4. 
Second  edition:  Same  title.    Paris,  1649.   Third  edition.    Troyes, 
1658.    Transl.  EngUsh,  The  World  Surveyed.    London,  1660. 
Bebnier,  Franqois 

Histoire  de  la  demidre  revolution  . . .  du  royaume  du  Grand 
Mogol.    Paris,  chez  Barbin,  1671,  2  vol. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  177 

BibliothIique.     (See:  Voyages  Imaginaires.) 
BouKiGNON,  Antoinette.     (1616-1680) 

Le    nouveau    ciel   et    la    nouvelle    terre.     Amsterdam,    1679. 
(Not   consulted.)     (Cited  by  P.   Bayle,  Dictionnaire,  Art. 
Adam.) 
Brosses,  Charles  de  (Le  President) 

Histoire  des  Navigations  aux  Terres  Australes.     Paris,  1756, 
(2  vols,  in-4.) 
Brunet,  Jacques-Charles 

Manuel  du  Libraire  et  de  I'amateur  de  livres.     Paris,  1865, 
(6  vols,  in-12.) 
Campanella,  Thomas 

Civitas  Solis    (Paris,  1637).    In  Ideal  Commonwealths.   London, 
(George  Routledge  and  Sons),  1893,  in-12. 
Camus,  A.  G. 

M^moire  sur  la  collection  des  Grands  et  Petits  Voyages,  et 
sur  la  collection  des  Voyages  de  Melchisedech  Th6venot, 
A,  G.  Camus,  membra  de  I'Institut  national.    Paris,  1802, 
in-8. 
Carpin,  Jean  du  Plan 

Relation  de  Voyage  en  Tartarie  (1246)  in  Relation  des  Voyages 
en  Tartarie,  etc.,  of  Pierre  Bergeron.    (See  Bergeron.) 
Chalcondylas  (or  Chalcocondylas).     (See:  Artus.) 
Chapelain,  Jean 

Lettres  (ed.  Tamizey  de  Larroque),  Paris,  1880-1883,  in-4. 
Charpentier,  Franqois 

Defense  de  la  langue  fran^aise,  etc.    Paris,  1676,  in-12.    (Not 
consulted.) 
Chaudon  et  Delandine 

Dictionnaire  universel  (9  ed.).    Paris,  1810,  2  vols.  in-4. 
Chinard,  Gilbert 

L'Exotisme  am^ricain  dans  la  litt^rature  fran^aise  au  XVI® 
si^cle,   d'apres   Rabelais,    Ronsard,   Montaigne,   etc.     Paris, 
1910,  in-16. 
L'Am^rique  et  le  rfeve  exotique  dans  la  litt^rature  fran^aise 
au  XVII«  et  au  XVIIP  si6cle.    Paris,  1913,  in-16. 
CoNANT,  Martha  P. 

The  Oriental  Tale  in  England  in  the  18th  Century,     (Thesis, 
Ph.D.,  Columbia  University.)    New  York,  1908,  18  cm. 
D'AvEZAC,  M.  A.  P. 

Relation  authentique  du  voyage  du  Capitaine  de  Gonneville, 
Paris,  1869,  in-8. 


178  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

De  Brt,  Johann  TnioDOKE  &  Johann  Israel 

Americae  insignis  &  admiranda  Historia.    Francfort,  1590-1630. 

(14  Parts,  bound  as  8  vols,  in-4.) 
Indiae  Orientalis  Historia,   etc.     Francfort,    1598-1628.     (13 

Parts,  bound  as  6  vols,  in-4.) 
(Often  referred  to  as  the  Grands  et  Petits  Voyages,  or  Long  and 

Short  Voyages.) 
Defoe,  Daniel 

The  Life  and  strange  surprizing  Adventures  of  Robinson  Crusoe 

of   York,   Mariner:   etc.    Written  by  himself.     Oxford  ed, 

1910. 
Delhove,  Abb6  H. 

Essai  critique  sur  le  r^alisme  Thomiste  compart  k  I'id^lisme 

Kantien.    (ThSse)  Lille,  1907,  in-8. 
Delvaille,  Jules 

Essai  sur  I'histoire  de  l'id6e  de  progrds  jusqu'll  la  fin  du  xviii® 

sidcle.    Paris,  1910,  in-8. 
Fayette,  Mme.  de  la 

(Euvres  completes  de  Mmes  de  la  Fayette,  de  Tencin  et  de 

Fontaines.    Paris,  1825.    (Vols,  i,  ii,  and  iii),  5  vols.  in-8. 
F^NELON,  (Francois  de  Salignac  de  la  Mothe) 

Aventures  de  T616maque  (1699).     Ed.  Didot  Fr^res.     Paris, 

1859,  in-12. 
G.   Lanson.     Mamtel  Bihliogra'phique.     Nos.   6698^-6702    and 

6629. 
FoiGNT,  Gabriel 

LA  TERRE  /  AUSTRALE  /  CONNUE:  /  C'EST  A  DIRE,  / 

LA  DESCRIPTION  /  de  ce  pays  inconnu  jusqu'ici,  /  de  ses 

moeurs  &  de  ses  costumes.  /  PAR  MR.  SADEVR,  /  Avec  Us 

avantures  qui  le  conduisirent  en  /  ce  Continent,  &  les  particu- 

laritez  du  /  sejour  gu'il  y  fit  durant  trente-cinq  ans  /  &  plus, 

&  de  son  retour.  /  Reduites  &  mises  en  lumiere  par  les  /  soins 

&  la  conduite  de  G.  deF.  /  A  VANNES,  /  Par  laqves  Ver- 

nevil  rue  /  S.  Gilles,  1676.     (SmaU  12mo) 
Other    editions   of  above.     (Title:  Les  Avantures  de  Jacques 

Sadeur,  etc.),  chez  Barbin,  Paris,  1692;  chez  Barbin,  Paris, 

1693;  chez  G.  Cavelier,  Paris,   1706;  chez  David  Mortier, 

Amsterdam,  1732. 
Les  Avantures  de  Jacqut^  Sadeur,  in  BiMiothhque  des  Voyages 

Imaginaires.    Amsterdam,  1787-1789,  vol.  24. 
English   transl.    (probably  of  1692  ed.):    A    new  discovery  of 

Terra  incognita  Australis  by  Mr.  Sadeur.    London,  1693. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  179 

FoiGNT,  Gabriel  —  Continued 

Usage  du  Jeu  royal  de  la  langue  latine.  Lyon,  1674.  Second 
edition,  Lyon,  1676.     (Not  consulted.) 

FONTENELLE,  BERNARD  LE  BOVIER  SIEUR  DE 

Relation  de  I'tle  de  Borneo,  in  NouveUes  de  la  Ripubliquc  de 

lettres,  Jan.  1686.    Amsterdam.    (Edited  by  P.  Bayle.) 
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France,  Adolphe 

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Le  Commentaire  royal  ou  I'Histoire  des  Yncas,  etc.,  trad,  par 

Jean  Beaudoin.    Paris,  1633,  2  vol.  in-4.    (Not  consulted.) 
Same  title,  chez  J.  F.  Bernard.    Amsterdam,  1737,  2  vol.  in-4. 
(This  is  the  7th  edition  of  the  French  translation  cited  by 
M.  Chinard  in  UAm&r.  et  le  r&ve  exotique,  p.  437.) 
Gattthier,  L£on 

Ibn  Thofail,  sa  vie,  ses  cBUvres.    Paris,  1909,  in-12. 
Hayy    ben    Yadqh4n,    Roman   philosophique    d'Ibn    Thofail, 
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Gillot,  Huberp 

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GossotTiN, (MaItre) 

L'Image  du  monde  de  Maitre  Gossouin.  (Texte  du  manuscrit 
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Th&se  de  Doctorat  de  TUniversit^  de  Lausanne.  O.  H. 
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GOURMONT,  R^MY  DE 

La  Cultiu-e  des  idees.    Paris,  1900,  in-12. 

GOUZ,  FRANgOIS  de  LABOXnULAYE  DE 

Les  voyages  et  observations  du  Sieur  de  la  Boullaye-le-Gouz 

en  .  .  .  ItaUe,  Gr^ce,  Syrie,  Palestine,  . . .  Indes  Orientales  .  .  . 

Arabic  .  .  .  Egypte  . .  .  Irelande  .  .  .  Pologne,  etc.    Paris,  chez 

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GraciXn,  Baltasar.     (Also  known  by  pseudonym  Lorenzo  Gracian) 

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L'homme  d6tromp6,  ou  le  Criticon  (trad,  par  Maimory).  Paris, 
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180  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

GraciXn,  Baltasar  —  Continued 

The  Critick,  written  originally  in  Spanish;  by  Lorenzo  Gracian, 
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Janet,  Paul 

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JUSTEL,  P. 

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KORTING,  H. 

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Lanson,  Gustave  —  Continued 

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Le  Breton,  Andr:i6 

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Le  Franc,  Abel 

Les  navigations  de  Pantagruel;   6tude  sur  la  geographic  rabe- 
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Voyages  et  avantures  de  Frangois  Leguat  et  de  ses  compagnons 
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A  new  voyage  to  the  East  Indies  by  Francis  Leguat,  etc.    Lon- 
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Le  Strange,  G.     (See:   Mustawfi.) 

LlCBTENBERGER,  AnDR£ 

Le  Sociahsme  au  xviii®  siecle.    Paris,  1895. 
Le  Sociahsme  utopique.    Paris,  1898. 
Ltser,  Johann 

Discursus  de  polyganaia,  1673.    (Not  consulted.) 
Polygamia  triumphatrix,  1676.    (Not  consulted.) 
Mann,  W.  W. 

Robinson  Cruso6  en  France.     (These  de  Doctorat  de  I'Uni- 
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Marchand,  Prosper 

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Martino,  Pierre 

L'Orient  dans  la  litt^rature  frangaisc  au  xvii*  et  au  xviii®  silcle. 
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Men^ndez  y  Pelayo,  D.  Marcelino.     (See:  Tufail.) 
MocQiET,  Jean 

Voyages  en  Afrique,  Asie,  Indes  Orientales  &  Occidentales  faits 
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1st  ed.    (Paris,  1616).    (Not  consulted.) 

Other  editions,  Rouen,   1645,  Rouen,  1665.    English  transla- 
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182  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

MoLiNET,  Jean 

Recollection  des  merveilles  advenues  de  son  temps. 
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More,  Thomas 

Utopia  (1518).     In  Ideal   Commonwealths  (Greorge  Routledge 
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MoRERi,  Louis 

Grand  Dictionnaire  historique.    (Ed.  1732.)    Paris,  6  vol.  in-fol. 
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Polyhistor  literarius,  etc.    Lubeck,  1714,  in-8. 
MoRiuLOT,  Paul 

Le  roman  en  France  de  1610  jusqu'^  nos  jours.    Paris,  1892, 
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The  Geographical  Part  of  the  Nuzhat-Al-Qulub,  composed  by 
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(This  work  has  more  than  a  sUght  resemblance  to  the  Imagu 
du  Monde  found  in  a  corresponding  period  of  French 
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NicERON,  Jean  Pierre 

M6moires  pour  servir  k  I'histoire  des  hommes  illustres  dans  la 
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M^moires  touchant  l'6tabUssement  d'une  mission  chrestienne 
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M6ridionale,  Antartique,  et  inconnue.  Dediez  k  Nostra 
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(Name  of  author:  Abb6  Paulmier  de  Gonneville,  chanoine  de 
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Poll,  Max 

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BIBLIOGRAPHY  183 

PoiiO,  Marco 

Le  livre  de  Marco  Polo  rddig6  en  FranQais  par  Rusticien  de 
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Le  livre;   fac-simiUe  d'un  manuscrit  du  xiv  sidcle.    Stockholm, 
1882,  in-fol. 
Prior,  O.  H.  (See:  Gossouin.) 
Pttfendorf,  Samuel  von 

De  jure  naturae  et  gentium.  London,  1672,  in-4,  (Not  con- 
sulted). 

PURCHAS,  SaMTJEL 

Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes.    London,  1625. 

(Reprint,  Glasgow,  1906,  20  vol.  in-8.) 
Qtjir  (or  QuEiRos),  Fernando  de 

8th  Petition  to  King  of  Spain. 

(Contained  in  De  Bry,  India  Orientalis.  Francfort,  1613,  Pars 
X,  pp.  13-18.  Contained  in  Purchas,  His  Pilgrimes.  Glas- 
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Pubhshed  separately  in  French.  Paris,  1617.  (Title:  Copie 
de  la  requeste  prisentee  au  Roy  d'Espagne,  etc.,  in-12.)  (French 
version  not  consulted.) 
Rabelais,  Francois 

Pantagniel.    {(Euvres,  ed.  Louis  Moland,  Gamier  Frlres.    Paris, 
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R^MXJSAT,  Charles  de 

Bacon,  sa  vie,  son  temps,  sa  philosophic  et  son  influence  jusqu'i 
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RiGAtTLT,  H. 

Histoire  de  la  querelle  des  anciens  et  des  modemes.  Paris,  1856, 
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RUGE,  SOPHUS 

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Saint-Evremond,  Charles  de 

(Euvres  m616es.    (Ed.  Techener  Fils.)    Paris,  1865. 
Segrais,  Jean  de 

(Euvres.     Amsterdam,  1723,  2  vol.  in-12. 
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SEiLLiijRE,  Ernest 

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184  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Swift,  Johnathan 

Works,  with  notes  and  a  life  of  the  author  by  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
Bart.     Edinburgh,  1824,  19  vol.  in-12. 
Ta VERNIER,  Jean  Baptiste 

Nouvelle  relation  du  serail  du  Grand  Seigneur.    Paris,  1675,  in-4. 
Les  six  voyages  de  J.  B.  Tavernier.    Paris,  1676,  3  vol.  in-4. 
(2nd  ed.,  1681.) 

Suite  des  voyages  de  Mr.  Tavernier,  ou  Nouveau  reciiail  de 
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Th^venot,  Melchisedec 

Relations  de  divers  voyages  curieux,  qui  n'ont  pas  esti  publi^es. 
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Thomas,  Saint Aquinas 

Opera  Omnia.    Rome,  1888-1906,  3  vol.  in-fol. 
Tufail,  Ibn 

Hayy  ben  Yaqdhan  (circa  1160). 

Latin  transl.  by  Pocock.    Oxford,  1671.    (Not  consulted.) 
English  transl.  from  Latin.    London,  1686,  1703,  and  1731. 
(The  improvement  of  human  reason,  exhibited  in  the  lije  of  Hai 

Ebn  Jokdhan.)     (Not  consulted.) 
German  transl.  from  Latin.    Der  von  sich  selbst  gelehrte  Welt- 

weiae.    Frankfurt,  1726.    (Not  consulted.) 
2nd  French  transl.  from  MS  found  at  Algiers,  by  M.  L^a 

Gauthier.     (See:  Gauthier.) 
Spanish  transl.  from  MS.    El  Jildsofo  autodidacto  de  Abentofail. 
(With  prologue  by  Men6ndez  y  Pelayo.)     Zaragoza,  1900, 
Tyssot  de  Patot,  Simon 

Voyages  et  avantures  de  Jacques  Mass6.  Bordeaux,  chez 
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Vairasse,  Denis.  (Also  known  as  d' Alois,  Allais,  Veirassc  d'Alais.) 
The  History  of  the  Sevarit^s  or  Sevarambi,  a  nation  inhabiting 
a  part  of  the  third  continent,  commonly  called  Terrae  Arts- 
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West  End  of  St.  Pauls  Church- Yard.  I/ondon,  1675,  in-12. 
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BIBLIOGRAPHY  185 

Histoire  des  S^varambes,  peuples  qui  habitent  une  partie  du 
troisiSme  continent  ordinairement  appel6  Terre  Australe, 
contenant  un  compte  exact  du  gouvemement,  des  moeurs,  de 
la  religion  et  du  langage  de  cette  nation,  jusques  aujourd'hui 
inconnue  aux  peuples  de  I'Europe.  Trad,  de  I'anglois. 
Partie  I.  Paris,  1677  (2  vol.  in-12).  Partie  II.  Paris, 
1678-1679  (3  vol.  in-12.) 

Histoire  des  S6varambes,  etc.  Brussels,  1682  (5  vol.  in-12), 
Amsterdam,  1682  (5  vol.  in-12),  1702  (2  vol.  in-12),  1716 
(2  vol.  in-12),  1787  (In  Bihliothkque  des  Voyages  Imaginaires, 
t.  5). 

Translated  into  Dutch  (Amsterdam,  1683),  German  (Sulzbach, 
1689;  Niirnberg,  without  date;  Niimberg,  1714)  and  Italian 
(Venice,  1728).     (Translations  not  consulted.) 

Histoire  des  Sevarambes  (same  title  as  1677  edition,  with  addi- 
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Bound  as  2  volumes.  Pages  numbered  for  2  volumes.  (Cita- 
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1716  ed.  Amsterdam,  chez  Roger.  There  are  thirteen  more 
pages  in  the  2nd  vol.,  ed.  1702,  than  in  the  1716  ed.) 

Qrammaire  m6thodique,  contenant  les  principes  de  cet  art  et 
les  regies  les  plus  n6cessaires  de  la  langue  frangoise  dans  un 
ordre  clair  et  naturel.    Paris,  1681,  in-12.     (Not  consulted.) 

A  short  and  methodical  introduction  to  the  French  tongue. 
Paris,  1683,  m-12.    (Not  consulted.) 
ViGENijRE,  Blaise  de.  (See:  Artus.) 
Vossius,  G.  J. 

De  vera  aetate  mundi.     The  Hague,  1659,  in-4.     (Not  con- 
sulted.) 
Voyages  Imacjinaires  (BiBuoTHfeQUE  des) 

36  vols.  in-8.    Amsterdam,  1787-1789. 
Wackwitz,  Friedrich 

Entstehimgsgeschichte  von  D.  Defoe's  Robinson  Crusoe. 
Berlin,  1909  in-8.    (Thesis  for  Ph.D.) 

WtTFLIET,  C0RNILX.E 

Histoire  universelle  des  Indes  Orientales  et  Occidentales.  A 
Douay,  aux  despens  de  Frangois  Fabri,  1605,  in-fol. 


INDEX  TO  NAMES  OF  PERSONS 


(References  are  to'pages) 


Acosta,  J.,  8,  10 

Amyot,  126 

Aquinas,    St.    Thomas,    103  n, 

129  n 
Ariosto,  50  n 
Artus,  Thomas,  13,  14,  151 

Bacon,  F.,  11,  18,  19,  51  n,  93, 

100,  101,  112,  129,  148,  150 
Baldensperger,  F.,  vi 
Basnage,  140 
Boyle,  P.,  37  n,  38,  50  n,  67 

58  n,   60  n,  62  n,  63  n,  74,  76 

88,  140 
Beaudoin,  J.,  67,  115  n 
Beaurieu,  G.  de,  xii 
Bergerac,  C.  de  S.,  ix,  xi,  128 
Bergeron,  P.,  25,  26,  29, 30,  57  n, 

66,  67,  72,  108,  109  n,  113  n, 

116,   118  n,  120  n,   121  n,   162 

(see:  Le  Blanc) 
Bemardin  de  Saint-Pierre,  J.  H., 

106 
Bemier,  J.,  130  n 
Boileau-Despr^ux,  N.,  68 
Bossuet,  J.  B.,  xii 
Bourgogne,  due  de,  144  n,  147 
Bourignon,  Antoinette,  62 
Bouton,  J.,  7 
Boym,  M.,  10 
Brendan,  Saint,  12,  16 


Brosses,  C.  de,  22  n 
Brunet,  J.  26  n  til 
Bry  (see:  De  Bry) 

Campanella,  T.,  11,  18,  52,  53n, 
101,  103  n,  105  n,  112,  129  n, 
148,  150 

Camus,  A.  G.,  2  n 

Carpin,  P.,  57,  108 

Carrel  de  Sainte-Garde,  11 

Catherine,  Saint,  12 

C.  D.  B.  S.  D.  L.  G.,  6 

Chalcocondylas,  14  n 

Chapelain,  J.,  11 

Charlemagne,  12 

Charpentier,  F.,  133  n 

Chateaubriand,  F,  R.  de,  xii,  150 

Chaudon,  L.  M.,  37  n 

Chinard,  G.,  x,  xi,  3,  4  n,  5, 10  n, 
13  n,  24  n,  26  n,  28,  30,  39, 
52  n,  59  n,  61  n,  82  n,  92  n, 
105,  118,  125  n,  135  n,  146, 149 

Colbert,  J.  B.,  152 

Colmnbus,  C,  93 

Conant,  M.  P.,  141  n 

Courbeville,  P.  P.  de,  142  n 

Cramoisy,  G.  &  S.,  7,  22 

D'Avezac,  M.,  22  n 
De  Bry,  J.  &  T.,  1, 2,  3,  4,  23,  49, 
50  n,  57,  76,  77,  85 


187 


188 


INDEX   TO   NAMES   OF   PERSONS 


Defoe,  D.,  xii,  96,  105,  142,  165 

Delandine  (see:  Chavdon) 

Delon,  89 

Delvaille,  M.,  122  n,  152  n 

Desmarets  de  Saint-Sorlin,  J.,  133 

Devese,  89 

Dulaurens,  Abb6,  xii 

Dupuis,  M.,  7 

Du  Ryer,  P.,  130  n 

Du  Tertre,  P.,  3 

Du  Verdier,  A.,  58 

Fayette,  Mme.  de  la,  xii 
F6nelon,  F.  de  S.,  xii,  144-161, 

164 
Foigny,   G.,   xii,    33,    34  n,   35, 

36-86,   101,    104,    105,    106, 

114,  122,  128,  132,  145,  146, 

149,  163,  164,  165 
Fontenelle,  B.  le  B.  de,  xi,  140, 

151 

Garcilaso  (El  Inca),  19,  20,  21, 
114,  115  n,  117,  118,  127,  150 
Gauthier,  M.,  141 
G6doyn,  N.,  159  n 
Gomberville,  M.  L.  de,  35,  52 
Gonneville  (see:  Pavlmier) 
Gossouin    (Mattre),    1  n,  54  n 
Gourmont,  R.  de,  129  n 
Gouz,  F.  de  L.  de,  9 
Graci^n,  B.,  140,  141,  142  n,  142 
Gunther,  M.,  38  n,  39,  79  n 

Haag,  E.  &  E.,  89 
Hackluyt,  23,  26 
Henri  III,  14 
Horace,  58 
Houdar  (see:  Moite) 
Huet,  P.  D.,  73  n 
Huxley,  T.  H.,  105 


Jouan,  H.,  4 
Justel,  P.,  5 

Kipling,  R.,  58 

LabouUaye  (see:  Gouz) 

Laet,  J.,  8 

Lallemant,  J.,  7 

Lancaster,  H.  C.,  vi 

Lanson,  G.,  v,  ix,  x  n,  xi  n,  67  n> 

73  n,    74,  99  n,   119  n,   126  n, 

133  n,  141,  144  n,  152  n,  158, 

159  n 
La  Rochefoucauld,  F.  de,  153 
Le  Blanc,  V.,  8,  9,  25-34,  48, 

57,  58,  60  n,  61  n,  67,  119  n, 

157  n 
Le  Braz,  A.,  vi 
Le  Breton,  A.,  146 
Leguat,  F.,  105,  119,  142  n 
Le  Jeune,  P.,  7 
Le  Mercier,  F.,  7 
Le  Strange,  G.,  57 
L'Hermite,  J.,  23 
Lichtenberger,  A.,  x,  xi,  xii  n, 

89,  92  n,  135  n 
Linguet,  S.  N.  H.,  xii 
Loaisa,  G.  de,  23 
Lodewijcks,  G.  M.,  8 
Lyser,  J.,  119  n 

MageUan,  F.  de,  23,  40 
Mann,  W.  E.,  165  n 
Marchand,   P.,   88,   89,  90,  91, 

108,  118 
Martini,  M.,  10 
Martino,  P.,  2  n,  10,  118  n 
Marucci,  G.,  9 

Men6ndez  y  Pelayo,  M.,  142 
Mocquet,  J.,  4,  5,  10,  33  n,  34, 

119  n 


INDEX   TO    NAMES   OF   PERSONS 


189 


Molinet,  J.,  59 

More,  T.,  11, 13, 15, 19,  49,  54  n 

93,  129,  148,  150 
Moreri,  L.,  90  n 
Morhof,  J.,  88,  92 
Morisot,  C.  B.,  9 
Motte,  Houdar  de  la.  A.,  133 
Mustawfi,  Hamd-Allah,  56 


Saint-Evremond,  C.  de,  68 

Sanson,  N.  (d' Abbeville),  9 

Schouten,  W.,  23 

Scud^ry,  M.,  35 

Segrais,  J.,  de,  34,  35,  45  n 

Seilli^re,  E.,  142  n 

Siden  (anagram  of  "Denis."  See: 

Vairasse) 
Sidney,  89 

Patot  (see:  Tyssot)  Simon,  R.,  130  n 

Paulmier,     B.    (de    Gonneville),      Spencer,  H.,  105 
22  n,  23,  40,  52  n,  79  n,  93  n        Spiers,  A.  G.  H.,  vi 

Pelleprat,  P.,  7  Spinoza,  B.   68 

Pelsart,  F.,  23,  95,  96,  98,  99, 

106,  138  Tasman,  A.,  23 

Pigafetta  P.,  50  Tavemier,   J.   B.,   113  n,   118  n, 

Pizarro,  F.,  24,  117  j^g  ^    ' 

Plato,  11,  19,  57,  74.  85,  93,  101,      Thevenot,  M.,  23,  95  n,  99  n 

^,         ,  Thofafl  (see:  Tufati) 

Plutarch,  19 

Polo,    M.,    2,    22,   26,   29,  109, 

113  n,  115,  118 

Pontac,  Mme.  de,  34 

Prior,  O.  H.,  54  n 

Pufendorf,  S.,  126  n 

Purchas,  23,  26,  78  n 


Quir  (or  Queiros),  P.  F.,  de,  23  n 
41  n,  55  n,  76,  77,  78,  79,  85 

Rabelais,  F.,  13 

Racine,  J.,  xii 

Ragueneau,  P.,  7 

R^tif  de  la  Bretonne,  xii 

Rhodes,  A.,  9,  10 

Rousseau,  J.  J.,  xii,  3,  105,  106, 

122  n 
Ruge,  S.,  79  n 

Saavedra,  F.,  23 
Sadeur:    (see  Foigny) 


Thomas  (see:  Artris) 
Tiphaigne  de  la  Roche,  xii 
Todd,  H.  A.,  vi 
Torres,  D.  B.  de,  8 
Torres,  P.  de,  41,  78 
Tufail,  I.,  140,  141  n,  142 
Tyssot  de  Patot,  S.,  119,  126  n 

Vairasse,  D.,  xii,  33,  35,  39,  49, 
63,  87-139,  145,  146,  163, 
164,  165 

Vauban,  S.  le  P.  de,  152 

Vimont,  B.,  7 

Vitr6,  F.  M.  de,  8,  10 

Voltaire,  xii 

Vossius,  G.  J.,  73  n 

Vossius,  I.,  89 

Wackwitz,  F.,  21  n,  39 
Weeks,  R.,  vi 
Wytfliet,  C.,  3 


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